Love's To Blame
by A.Pink.Pen
Summary: A glimpse of softly curled brown hair from around the corner, a shock of piercing blue eyes met in passing, a favorite song playing in the distance late at night. In New York City, absolutely anything is possible. Ezria.
1. Love's To Blame

**A/N: Hey everyone! So, I've been writing fanfics for a while now, but this is my first for PLL.**

**Anyway, I've had this idea floating in my head for a pretty long time, but about two weeks ago, I finally decided to actually write it out. I was hesitating to post it, but then I decided, I have absolutely nothing to lose.**

**Please forgive any grammatical, factual or spelling errors I may have missed. Constructive criticism would be completely amazing, so if you have a few seconds, please review, it only helps me get better.**

**For the record, this was meant to stay as a one-shot, but after reading all the wonderful feedback from this first chapter, I decided to keep going. Haha.**

**Oh, and the song is "Love's To Blame" by Joel and Luke. Listen to it, it's really beautiful, and you won't regret it. :)**

**- J**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PLL, any characters, this song, or any of the places mentioned. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter One- "Love's To Blame"<strong>

Aria Montgomery sat at her desk in her room, drumming her fingers on the smooth wooden surface, staring out the floor to ceiling windows that lay in front of her. It was 1:17 AM in New York City, where she now lived, and had been living for six years, in a studio apartment with her three best friends, Spencer Hastings, Emily Fields and Hanna Marin. Aria's room was dark, illuminated only by the single light on her desk, shining on her laptop that displayed her currently unfinished second novel, and by the lights that shone underneath her window, the never-ending hustle and bustle of New York City.

Aria rubbed her tired eyes, letting them drift over to a picture of her, Spencer, Emily and Hanna, arms swung around each other, dressed in their blue graduation robes, grinning and laughing like the world was at their feet and the possibilities were endless. And it was.

After the four of them graduated from Rosewood, 'A' miraculously decided to leave them alone and let them live their lives in peace, which they eagerly did. Aria was able to attend and graduate from New York University with honors and a B.A. in English Composition, Hanna was taking classes at Parsons The New School for Design and was due to graduate in a few weeks, after taking a year off from school to travel around Europe, while Spencer and Emily attended Columbia University, Spencer graduating Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in both Biology and Psychology, and Emily, a B.A. in Women's Studies.

Needless to say, at the tender age of 24, each of them became relatively successful in their fields, what with Aria currently a newly crowned_New York Times_ Best Selling Author, Hanna beginning a new, highly anticipated clothing line that was set to debut in her exclusive boutique she insisted open in Rosewood, Spencer attending medical school, and interning at the medical center, at Columbia, and Emily pursuing another degree in Education with her eyes set on a teaching job at a small college not far from the apartment they all shared.

The sound of shattering glass broke Aria out of her trance as her heard laughter escape from the kitchen.

"Sorry, Aria! We accidentally dropped the bottle of vodka!" Hanna yelled as they began laughing again.

Aria shook her head as a smile crept up on her face. She missed the days like this where, instead of 'stress' and 'tension' and 'busy' being the most commonly used adjectives to describe their shared living space, it was laughter and excitement that filled the open room that lay outside of Aria's bedroom. Days, or nights, seeing as how it was now 1:23 AM, like these were rare, but she always cherished them because they didn't happen too often.

Normally, she would've been out there with her friends, drinking, dancing, singing too loudly to music on the radio, and laughing like crazy, but she had to finish up this last chapter before her editor bit her head off again for not finishing before her set deadline. "Ahh, the joys of being an in-demand writer," Aria muttered to herself before turning her back to her work.

Hoping a bit of soft music would clear her head and help her begin to write, she turned on her favorite online radio station and pressed the play button. Logging on to Facebook for the first time in what seemed like forever, she saw that she had a few new friend requests. Clicking on the red notification, she scanned her eyes down the list of new requests. The barista she'd met at the coffee house/book store she frequented around the corner, a guy from her European Literature class at NYU she hadn't spoken to in years, Hanna's newest boyfriend, her old high school AP English Literature teacher...

She felt all the blood drain from her face as her eyes drew back up the list to the person she had overlooked. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that maybe they were just playing tricks on her, but there was no denying it. Right there in black and white, or more technically, blue and white, was the name "Ezra Fitz".

She clicked out of Facebook quickly, ignoring all the requests, and turned her attention back to the forgotten music playing in the background. She smiled in delight, albeit her pounding heart- this was her favorite song. She turned up the volume, filling the once quiet room with the sounds of a gorgeous piano tune, and listened as her heart began to slow. However, once she heard the words, she couldn't help but be transported back to what had happened years before. Back when she and Ezra were still, well, her and Ezra.

_Time and time, I've thought through it all,_

_How we loved and laughed,_

_And how we fought each other, pushing one another,_

_To be somebody else._

When Aria still attended Rosewood, her and Ezra Fitz had a thing between them. More than a thing, really, they were in love. She loved him beyond words, which was saying a lot, considering her love for words, but that was besides the point. They would often watch old movies in his apartment, cuddling on the couch, or would order Chinese take-out and would sit on the floor, cross-legged, eating with chopsticks and talking about everything under the sun.

Ezra was perfect for Aria. They had similar interests: literature, black and white films, writing, and they could debate for days on end about the symbolism and morality behind the text of _To Kill a Mockingbird_, their favorite novel. Even their temperaments balanced each other out- he was serious, a deep thinker, while she was a spitfire, sarcastic and passionate. There was one little problem, he was 7 years older than her- and her English teacher.

For months, everything went fine. They successfully hid their relationship from the prying and gossiping eyes that was Rosewood, and no one suspected a single thing. However, Ezra was always frustrated that he couldn't take his own girlfriend out for something as simple as a cup of coffee, and Aria was starting to feel annoyed by the fact that she couldn't gush to anyone about the man she was in love with, so he did the only thing he could think of that could make things easier- quit his job at Rosewood and take another teaching job at Hollis, the local university, so they would be able to be free to do as they wished.

_And time and time, I've wrestled my thoughts,_

_Uncertain if the end was right or wrong,_

_And whether we still should be together,_

_Or with somebody else.  
><em>

Over the last seven or eight odd years since Aria last saw Ezra, she had had her fair share of relationships, but none ever felt as right as the one between her and her English teacher. Sure, some of them were close, she had even almost gotten engaged once, but turned down the guy because she knew that there was only room for one person in her heart, and that guy was gone. No one ever came close to Ezra.

She opened her top desk drawer, lifted up the stacks of miscellaneous papers and writing utensils, and gingerly pulled out a picture of her and Ezra. Aria remembered when this picture was taken, a rare weekend out to Philadelphia to an art museum. She had stopped a stranger on the street to ask if he could take a picture of them, and he agreed.

This was a candid photo. Ezra had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, she was leaning into his chest, her arm around his waist, and was smiling from ear to ear as he kissed her softly on the head, neither one looking at the camera. The guy was still trying to figure out what button to press when he accidentally took this picture in the process; the real picture he took turned out blurry. But it didn't matter, she loved this one so much more.

Aria sighed as she looked at the picture. They looked so happy, so carefree, so much like a real couple. In that moment, they were just a guy and a girl who happened to meet in a bar and instantly hit it off. For that little moment in time, he wasn't her teacher, and she wasn't his student. This was her favorite picture of them.

_Our last memories, she had water in she eyes,_

_She cried, "Stay with me."_

_Asked, "How can this be love if you are leaving me?"_

_But, Darling, love's to blame._

Aria, at the beginning, felt guilty about making Ezra leave his job, but as she began to realize, with some encouragement from Ezra, that they would be able to finally act like a real couple and go out on dates, she accepted what he had done; she had even become quite excited. But all that changed when she realized that he would be working with his ex-fiancee again.

"Up until today, you were the one guy that never lied to me." Those few words had stung Ezra to the core, and just like that, their relationship was over. Ezra left for Hollis, Aria continued her studies at Rosewood, and they never saw or spoke to one another after that day.

_And I can't see you right now,_

'_Cause my heart just can't take it,_

_Can't be near you right now,_

'_Cause I know you're no longer mine._

_And I can't see you._

Aria put the picture back into her desk drawer, under the papers and pens, and closed it. Wiping a stray tear from her eye, she turned down the volume on her laptop and began to write again.

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><p>Ezra Fitz stood by the window of his apartment, the apartment he had been living in ever since he moved to this city, overlooking the streetlights below him. He turned and glanced at the clock, 1:25 AM. Normally, he would've been asleep by now, but he had so many papers left to grade by tomorrow that he had no choice but to stay up and finish them. Groaning, he made his way to his desk and turned on the lamp. He knew the only way he would be able to stay awake was if he had music, an idea that actually only popped into his head because he thought he heard the strains of his favorite song somewhere off in the distance. He chalked it up to his mind playing tricks on him.<p>

Turning on his favorite online radio station, he was surprised to hear that his favorite song actually was playing at that moment. He turned the volume up and listened to the lyrics.

_It makes me ache, that we had to break,_

_That even though I knew your heart so well,_

_We're strangers in different places,_

_Though we live a mile apart._

Ezra clicked on his Facebook tab, unable to determine whether he was sad that Aria had yet to accept his friend request, or whether he was relieved.

Earlier that day when she had popped up on his "People You May Know" list, his heart pounded as he clicked on her name, not knowing whether it really was her, or if it was another Aria Montgomery.

He looked at her profile picture. It looked much like the Aria he knew, except this Aria looked older and wiser, like she had weathered through some difficult times. He scanned her info, "Favorite books: _To Kill a Mockingbird_, _Catcher in the Rye_, _Winesburg, Ohio_…, Favorite movies: _It Happened One Night, Singing in the Rain, Breakfast at Tiffany's_…"he mumbled to himself as he read. Yes, this sounded exactly like her, these had always been her favorites. When they were dating, he had known her better than he knew himself. Heck, he knew her better than she had known_herself_. But that was when they were still dating. Now, 8 years later, he couldn't be sure if this was really her.

Glancing at her education info, he saw she had graduated from Rosewood. Yes, this was _the_ Aria Montgomery. Blood pulsing through his veins, he closed his eyes as he clicked, "Add as a friend". Even though he couldn't be sure if she had forgiven him or not, he had to try to make amends. And this was the first step.

_My best friend's gone, our world has been torn._

_We'll never share a name, never be one,_

_But I will always remember the years we spent in love._

Aria Montgomery was the love of his life, that was the one thing he was sure of. Even though, her especially, they were still young, he knew their relationship could survive absolutely anything; he was sure that one day, she would be his wife.

However, because of that stupid, rash decision to leave out the part about his ex-fiancee working with him, everything was torn apart. They broke up, never spoke to each other again, and he was crushed. He wanted to try to come back and work things out with her, but he knew that nothing would, or could, ever be the same, so he left for good. He hid in the shadows, afraid that if he ever came back out, what he saw would scare him.

_I still think of you,_

_I pray that you are safe._

_I'm still missing you._

_But it has to be this way because I'm not right for you,_

_And that's why love's to blame._

He was always afraid that one day, he would see her. See her randomly walking somewhere on the street, hand in hand with another guy, blissfully happy, and that would crush him. Ezra was selfish enough to put his own feelings first. Which is why, after only a few months at Hollis, he left for New York. He began teaching Advanced Placement English at a private high school, rented out an apartment not far from the school, and never had to live in fear that he would ever see Aria again one day with another man.

Ezra was selfish, that much was true, but he wasn't selfish enough to wish unhappiness on her for the sake of his own happiness. He hoped that she was happy, wherever she was, with whomever she was with, however, he just never wanted to see it happen before his own eyes.

He thought about her often, so much so that he had the picture of the two of them that had been taken on their trip to an art museum in Philly framed and placed on his desk at home.

_And I can't see you right now,_

'_Cause my heart just can't take it,_

_Can't be near you right now,_

'_Cause I know you're no longer mine._

_And I can't see you right now,_

'_Cause my heart just can't fake it,_

_Can't be near you right now,_

'_Cause I know you're no longer mine._

_And I can't see you,_

_I just can't see you right now._

He saw that the computer was still open to Aria's Facebook page, and a little tidbit of information that he happened to miss before caught his eye. Aria had attended NYU. She was living in New York City at this very moment. The same exact city he was in, that he had escaped to to get away from his pain. Ezra's heart began to pound and he felt lightheaded at the realization that all this time, even right at this very moment, the one thing tried to escape, tried to protect, was not far from him at all.

He closed the page, rubbed the back of his neck, and leaned his head into his hands on the desk.

* * *

><p><em>Maybe time will heal our hearts,<em>

_And maybe in time you'll understand,_

_I said goodbye 'cause I love you._

Aria's head snapped up at those words and her mind started reeling as thoughts came flooding into her mind. She began to the their situation from a new angle, from Ezra's point of view.

Slowly it dawned on her, Ezra had disappeared out of her life because he loved her. He wanted to protect her. It wasn't because he didn't love her at all, it was because he wanted her to be able to live a normal life; to be able to live a life free of worry of being caught in the tangles of the implications stemming from their hidden relationship, and be able to have fun and act like a normal sixteen year old girl.

All those years, she had resented him, and she always blamed the fact that he left on the belief that he didn't love her as much as she had thought. Now that she was older, and just a tad bit wiser, she was able to understand that he did care, even more than she realized. And for that, she was thoroughly grateful.

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><p><em>And I can't see you right now,<em>

'_Cause my heart just can't take it,_

_Can't be near you right now,_

'_Cause I know you're no longer mine._

_And I can't see you,_

_No I can't see you,_

_I just can't see you right now._

Ezra lifted his head off of the desk. Maybe he had seen her in a coffee shop, or at a bookstore, or at the park, and never realized it. And a thought came to his head: although they were living in the same state, the same city, they had still managed to avoid each other. By avoiding each other, they were able to grow and learn and mature and experience things without having to worry about each other, about whether their actions would hurt the other, about whether they would even meet again. And yet, they were still so close to each other.

Ezra rubbed his forehead, his brain beginning to hurt because of his racing mind, and, instead of grading papers, went back on Facebook, only to be greeted by a notification: "Aria Montgomery has accepted your friend request." And, for the first time in months, maybe even years, he laughed.

* * *

><p>Within seconds of accepting his request, Aria received a message from him.<p>

_Ezra Fitz_

_Aria, it's good to hear from you again! I'm glad you accepted my request._

_How's life going? Are you every bit as successful as I always knew you had the potential to be?_

Aria laughed at his question and took a few minutes to respond. As much as she wanted to give him a thorough rundown of the events that had occurred over the last 8 years, she knew she had to take things slowly. All the little things could wait.

_Aria Montgomery_

_Life's going pretty well right now, if I may say so myself. I'm currently living in New York City in an apartment with Spencer, Emily and Hanna, working on my second novel. My first one jumped to the top of the best-seller list, much to my surprise. Can you believe it? To this day, I'm still amazed I even sold one. So, my editor's on me to finish up my second one soon. Which is probably what I should be working on right now. Haha._

_How's life going for you? I've missed you._

Aria pressed 'send' before she lost her nerve and could delete the last line of that message. While waiting for his response, she went on his profile, only to find that he, too, was living in the city. She grinned, feeling oddly comforted, knowing he was never far from her at all. Aria opened her desk drawer, pulled out the picture of her and Ezra, and grabbed an empty picture frame she had gotten as a present for her last birthday from a bag near her desk. As she slipped in the picture and placed it on her desk, next to her graduation picture, she knew everything would be all right between them.

_Ezra Fitz_

_Congratulations! Guess I'm going to have to pick up your book the next time I'm at a bookstore. You were always talented, I had no doubts you could achieve whatever you set your mind to._

_Life's going well for me, too. I'm actually living in New York City, also, and I'm teaching Advanced Placement English Literature at a posh private high school in the city. __So what have you and the girls been up to since I saw you last? Still stirring up trouble?_

_And, for the record, I've missed you, too._

Aria smiled after reading his reply and gave him a quick summary of what Emily, Hanna and Spencer had been up to since leaving Rosewood, her heart slowing back down to a normal beat.

After talking for a few minutes, Aria yawned and stretched, full well knowing that she was not going to be able to finish the chapter tonight. She typed out a quick message to Ezra that she was getting tired and was going to sleep. As usual, he shot back a message nearly instantly.

_Ezra Fitz_

_Listen, I think we should meet up so we can talk face to face and catch up. I'd love to hear about your newest novel, maybe even a sneak peak, possibly? __If you're not busy, I'm free this afternoon. We could go to this little coffee shop I love that's just around the corner._

Aria didn't hesitate for one second.

_Aria Montgomery_

_I would love to. I'll see you this afternoon, then. :)_

Turning off her laptop, she peeked her head outside of her door.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to bed now. Try not to have too much fun without me, okay?" Aria called out from her bedroom door. She laughed when she saw bottles of alcohol strewn across the kitchen counter, and Spencer, Emily and Hanna standing around with shot glasses in their hands, ready to gulp down the burning liquid.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us for just one little drink?" Spencer asked, taunting Aria with the small glass. Aria shook her head.

"No, I think I'm just going to go to sleep now. Besides, I'm meeting an old friend for coffee later," she said, not being able to keep the corners of her lips from slightly turning upwards.

"Really? Who? Do we know this old friend?" Hanna asked, excited that her friend was beginning to have a little fun again.

"I'll tell you in the morning, when you'll actually understand and remember what I'm saying," Aria said, smirking. "Good night!"

She closed her door and walked over to the lamp on her desk. Switching it off, she pulled down her sheets and snuggled into the warm pile of pillows and blankets, anticipating that afternoon's events.

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><p>Ezra didn't know whether them talking again meant that something was going to happen between them, whether they were going to be friends again, or if they were going to be something more, but he was willing to find out. After Aria said her goodnight, Ezra logged off Facebook and shut down his own computer, determined to finish grading those papers.<p>

Taking one last look outside his window, he saw the light in the room of the apartment a floor below him turn off. He knew it was a girl, or more specifically, _girls_, that lived beneath him because he would, every so often, hear laughter and loud, blasting music coming from there. He was so sure that the song he heard earlier, his favorite song, was coming from there, meaning one of them obviously had great taste in music.

Maybe one day he would go down and meet them. Who knew? Maybe something could happen between him and the mystery girl with the great taste in music. After talking to Aria today, he felt like he finally had closure, he finally had the freedom to finally move on.

In New York City, absolutely anything was possible. And Ezra Fitz, and Aria Montgomery, who unbeknownst to him, was the mystery girl living in the apartment below him, were both excited to see what the future had to hold.

_And love's to blame._


	2. Out of the Corner of an Eye

**A/N: So, after a little bit of thinking, and after getting inspired while watching the season premiere last night, I realized that I could probably squeeze a few more chapters out of this. I don't see this going more than three or four more chapters, but I'm not saying it couldn't. Maybe a few more reviews could change my mind? Haha. :)**

**Speaking of review, thank you so much for them, they literally made my day. You have no idea how much they meant to me. Keep reviewing, sending me constructive criticism, ideas, anything. I'll take it all. Haha.**

**- J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except Mandy. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two- "Out of the Corner of an Eye"<strong>

Aria woke up groggily, and quite unwillingly, if she may add, at 10 AM by the steady stream of sunlight shining through her window- and right into her closed eyes. Her and mornings had never been the best of friends. She probably would've been able to sleep through it, had it not been for those damn birds chirping outside her window. Well, that and Spencer banging pots and pans trying to find one to make scrambled eggs in, her trusty cure for a hangover.

She grudgingly walked over to her desk and powered on her laptop, forgoing her daily email check, knowing there would be no doubt more than one from her editor, asking when she would be finished with her next chapter. Instead, she decided to log onto Facebook.

After logging in, she was promptly notified that she had a new message, which she clicked on, a smile creeping up on her face as she read Ezra's newest message.

_Ezra Fitz_

_Hope we're still on for coffee today. I have to stop by work and drop off a few papers, but it shouldn't take long. How about we meet at the coffee shop on the corner of 6__th__ and 18__th__ at 3:15-ish?_

_I can't wait to see you._

After typing out a quick reply and checking the time, 10:35, she decided that the best thing to do, so her nerves wouldn't get the best of her, would be to walk to her favorite bagel shop a few blocks away from her apartment building to get some breakfast, and some fresh air. Aria kept on the grey sweats she slept in, pulled her hair up in a messy ponytail, threw on her favorite sweater, grabbed her purse, and left her apartment.

Normally, Aria would've taken the stairs, seeing as how the elevator always took forever to get to her floor, but she figured she would take her chances today. Pressing the down button, she grinned as she heard the bell ding and watched the doors opened. This must've been her lucky day.

A few seconds later, when the doors opened to the lobby, she walked out and caught a glimpse of a guy with semi-curly black-ish hair, wearing a white button-up shirt and carrying a briefcase, walking down the stairs. Even from the corner of her eye, she could tell the guy was cute. But, she didn't have time to stop and check out a cute guy, she needed to get her breakfast and get back to her apartment so she could finish writing that chapter and email it to her editor before she met Ezra for coffee. Slipping on her dark sunglasses, she quickly walked out the doors of her apartment building and to the bagel shop, a smile on her face as she walked in, knowing the cute guy from her apartment was walking behind her, going to the same place.

Making her way inside the store, she breathed in the scent of freshly baking dough and strong coffee. She wormed her way through the ever-crowded store, finally making it up to the counter and ordering herself a ham and egg cheddar cheese bagel with a large coffee.

After placing her order, Aria looked around and spotted what looked like the guy from the lobby. Sadly, he was all the way on the other side of the store, on the other side of the crowd. She would have to wait until the next time she saw him in the lobby to talk to him.

* * *

><p>Ezra woke up, wide awake, at 9 AM, heart beginning to beat a little faster after remembering that he would be meeting Aria for coffee later that day.<p>

After logging off Facebook last night, he made sure to finish grading those papers so that he would be able to enjoy his…he didn't even know what to call it. A date? A meeting? Whatever the label was, he was going to see Aria. However, finishing grading those papers also meant he didn't sleep until nearly 4 AM. But that was only a small price to pay if it meant he would be able to see her again.

Yes, he was nervous, his pounding heart and strong pulse attested to that theory, but he was also excited. He didn't know what this [insert label here] between him and Aria would be like, but he was willing to find out. Besides, how bad could it be?

That was a total lie, he knew how bad it could be. A million worst-case scenarios ran through his mind all at once.

_What if she showed up with another guy?_

Ezra pictured himself sitting at a table, sipping his coffee. She strode through the door, holding onto the arm of a taller, stronger, more handsome man, and, much to Ezra's horror, walked straight towards him. "Hi, Ezra. This is my fiancé, he wanted to come to make sure nothing happened between us."

_Or what if she didn't show up at all?_

Ezra pictured himself, once again, sitting at a table, sipping his coffee. He watched the clock as 10 minutes elapsed, then 15, then 30, and before he knew it, the shop was closing down, and, he realized, she stood him up.

_Or what if, _God forbid_, she shows up with a kid?_

Ezra sat at the same table, sipping the same coffee, watching the door, waiting for her to show up. And, after a few minutes, she arrived- holding the hand of a girl who looked to be about 7, the spitting image of himself. Ezra choked on his coffee, stunned, half wishing she had just stood him up.

He shook his head, determined to have a positive outlook on this whatever it was called. Besides, they had never done anything more in the past than kiss, so there went that last scenario. But, still, what if Aria showed up with someone else, or stood him up, or one of the other scenarios running through his head that he didn't want to imagine? Yes, he knew he probably deserved it, but he hoped it wouldn't happen.

After checking the clock to see how much time he had left, he stepped into the shower to get ready for the day. Throwing on a pair of black slacks, tucking in a white button-up shirt, and pulling on his trusty black jacket, he placed the graded papers into his briefcase and walked out of his apartment.

Wanting to be good today, or just hoping the good karma would help him with Aria, Ezra decided to take the stairs. Besides, the four flights of stairs were the quickest way to get downstairs, since it seemed like the elevators always took forever.

As he made it down to the lobby, he watched as the elevator doors opened, and a girl stepped out. He took in her grey sweatpants, oversized jacket, and messy ponytail. There was no doubt, even in her casual and inconspicuous outfit, she was beautiful.

She turned her head to him slightly, and he flashed her a smile, hoping to catch her attention, but she just put on her sunglasses and kept walking out the door. Ezra shook his head and laughed lightly to himself, knowing that he should probably be heading down to the school, rather than check out a pretty woman in his lobby, if he wanted to make it in time to meet Aria.

He decided to stop by his favorite bagel shop, where they served his favorite, warm chocolate chip, for some breakfast and coffee. As he walked out of the building, he laughed again quietly, watching as the woman he spotted in the lobby was also making her was to the bagel shop.

Walking into the crowded store, he watched as the woman made her way to the only open register, which was all the way on the other side. As much as he wanted to talk to her, to meet her, it would just be too difficult to make it through the crowd. He would just have to settle for talking to her the next time he saw her in the lobby.

* * *

><p>Aria stood in front of her closet, wet hair wrapped in a towel, wearing a soft, fluffy white robe and pursed lips. It was 2:27, exactly 48 minutes away from the time that she was set to meet Ezra, and she had no idea what to wear.<p>

"Knock, knock, can I come in?" Spencer asked, lightly knocking on Aria's slightly open door before peeking her head through.

"Of course, come in," Aria said. Spencer opened the door and shut it behind her, sitting on Aria's bed, watching, with curious eyes, as she critically examined each article of clothing. "Why is it that I can't find an outfit I actually like today?" Aria exclaimed while throwing her hands up, exasperated by the fact that she couldn't find anything appropriate to wear.

"Aren't you just going out for coffee, though? Why don't you just wear jeans and a sweater? I mean, it's not too cold out," Spencer said, watching as Aria turned around and sat next to her on her bed. A smirk rose to her lips, "Unless you're not going for 'just coffee'?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm going for coffee!" Aria said, her voice rising an octave, getting back on her feet to scrutinize her wardrobe once more. "I just wanted to look nice. I mean, you never know who I may see there."

"Like, maybe, your mysterious 'old friend'?"

Aria turned around once more. "You remember that?" she asked incredulously.

"Give me a break, Aria. I had a hangover, not amnesia," Spencer said with a laugh. "So, tell me, who is this mysterious 'old friend' of yours? Mona? Noel? Mr. Fitz?" she asked inquiringly, drawing out the last name teasingly.

Spencer's eyes grew wide as she caught a glimpse of Aria's cheeks beginning to grow red before she spun around, pretending to suddenly be interested in a bright, red sequined top she bought ages ago on a whim.

"Aria! You're going to see Mr. Fitz again? He came here to visit you? How did he know you were here?"

"Shh!" Aria checked to make sure the door was closed before sitting back down on the bed next to Spencer. "Yes, okay? I'm meeting Mr. Fitz again," Aria explained in a hushed tone. Spencer opened her mouth to speak again, but Aria silenced her. "Look, he requested me on Facebook yesterday, I accepted, and we started talking again. It turns out that he lives in the city, too, and he asked me if I wanted to meet him for coffee, so I agreed."

"Have you told Hanna or Emily yet?" Spencer asked as she got up to look through Aria's closet.

"Have you seen them? They're still passed out on the couch right now. Of course I haven't told them yet." Aria fell backwards on her bed, her arms flung over her eyes. "Can you do me a favor? Can you keep this a secret for right now? I feel like I should keep this under wraps until I know exactly what's going on between me and Ezra. There's no reason to get them worked up just yet."

In between the noise of hangers being pushed from one side of the wardrobe to the other, Aria heard Spencer's agreement. "Besides, why tell them if you're not even sure you're going to meet up with him? You can't find an outfit, remember?" Spencer replied, sarcasm coating each word.

Aria groaned. "I don't need your sarcasm right now, Spencer. What I need is an outfit!" She got up and joined Spencer in front of her wardrobe. "Besides, there isn't exactly a book out there on what to wear when you're meeting your ex-English teacher slash boyfriend after not speaking for eight years."

"There isn't, but I could totally write one." Spencer reached into the back of Aria's wardrobe and pulled out a piece of clothing Aria didn't even remember buying. Aria held it up against herself, studying her reflection in the mirror, while Spencer grinned in satisfaction.

* * *

><p>After dropping off the graded papers at the school, Ezra made his way back to his apartment to change into something more casual. Looking at the clock on the wall, he realized he would late if he didn't leave now. Running to his closet, he pulled a pair of dark washed jeans and put on a black v-neck sweater before kicking off his dress shoes and slipping his feet into his favorite sneakers.<p>

He pulled his watch onto his left wrist, grabbed his keys, and rushed out the door. After making sure it was locked, he took a chance and pressed the down button for the elevator which, miraculously, opened with a ding. Luck was on his side, and he went into the elevator, furiously pressing the button for the lobby.

As soon as the doors opened, he took off running for the coffee shop, which was right around the corner. He mentally praised himself for choosing a shop so close to his apartment, knowing that if it was further away, he would probably be in trouble. Ezra walked into the coffee shop on the corner of 6th and 18th at 3:20, hoping Aria wasn't there yet. And she wasn't.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he walked up to the counter and ordered his usual: a large cappuccino with extra foam and milk. The baristas, of course, all knew him by now, seeing as he had been coming to this same coffee shop ever since he had moved to this city seven years ago.

"No problem, Ezra. Why don't you go have a seat, check out some of the new books we got in today, and I'll get that to you as soon as it's ready?" Ezra's favorite barista, Mandy, suggested.

"Thanks Mandy, I just may do that." Ezra said with a smile, dropping a dollar into the tip jar.

He walked over to the 'New Releases' section, which, not coincidentally, was right beside his favorite leather chair near the window. Skimming his eyes over the books before him, he pulled out the one that caught his eye and began flipping through it.

"Doing some research on me before our coffee?" Aria asked, startling him as she walked up behind him.

He turned around and took in her appearance. She was wearing a beautiful black lace dress that hugged her in all the right spots, without looking too vulgar, grey tights, brown leather ankle boots, and a grey sweater. Her hair was curled, as it always used to be, and she wore make-up that accentuated her beauty, not hid it.

"Um," he said, clearing his throat, "Of course, I'm a teacher, doing research is in my blood," he said, laughing.

"Well, put that copy back on the shelves. I brought you one, _with_ a personalized autograph inside," Aria said, pulling out a copy of the same book her was holding, her book, out of her bag and handing it to him.

He did as he was told and took the book from her. This was awkward. When did things between them get to be this awkward?

* * *

><p>Aria finished getting ready and realized that if she didn't leave now, she would be late. Thankfully, the coffee shop Ezra had chosen was just around the corner, meaning it wouldn't take her more than 5 minutes to get there, as long as she didn't have to take the stairs. Taking the stairs would've meant adding another 5 minutes to her time, since walking down three flights of stairs in ankle boots with heels was not exactly the easiest thing. At least, not today.<p>

Making sure she had her cell phone, keys and cash in her bag, she slipped in Ezra's present, a copy of her book with a personal message from her, into her bag also. Running out the door, stopping to make sure it was locked, she pressed the down button on the elevator. Standing there for a few seconds, she knew her luck had run out, and she would have to take the stairs, meaning, without a doubt, she was definitely going to be late. With a groan, she began her slow descent down the stairs, cursing the person who had taken her elevator.

By the time she arrived at the coffee shop, it was 3:30, and Ezra was standing next to the 'New Releases' section, skimming through her novel. She quietly snuck up behind him. "Doing some research on me before our coffee?" She stifled a giggle as he slightly jumped, turning to her.

She watched as his eyes roamed her body, taking in her appearance. She would have to remember to thank Spencer for her outfit. "Um," she heard him clear his throat, "Of course, I'm a teacher, doing research is in my blood." He laughed that laughed that she missed.

She pulled out the book she was keeping in her bag and held it out to him, "Well, put that copy back on the shelves. I brought you one, _with_ a personalized autograph inside."

Aria stood there, watching as he put the book he was holding back on the shelf, and took the book from her and held it in his hands. She laughed nervously. "So, um, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to say hi?"

Ezra returned the nervous laugh, placing the book on the table beside him. He rubbed his neck with his left hand, a habit Aria remembered all too well, and stuck out his right hand for her to shake.

She looked at his outstretched hand, trying to decide if she wanted to shake it. In truth, she would've loved a hug, she would've love to feel his arms around her. It'd been so long since she'd last gotten one of those hugs from him, ones that made her feel safe.

But, instead, she stretched out her right hand and shook his. She looked down at their hands and back up at him with a sheepish smile. "Oh, come on Ezra, we're friends, aren't we?" She pulled him in for a hug, feeling him stiffen up for a moment, taken aback by her spontaneity, before she felt him loosen up and hug her back.

They let go after a few moments, all traces of awkwardness gone. At least, that's what it seemed like to her. Mandy, her favorite barista, walked over to them, holding a cup of coffee and handing it to Ezra.

"Your usual, Ezra." Ezra said his thank you, as Mandy turned to Aria. "Aria! You're here, too? Would you like me to get your usual, as well? A mocha latte with a shot of raspberry? This time it's on the house, and I won't take no for an answer."

Aria laughed, "Sure, Mandy, thank you so much."

Mandy walked off to make Aria's coffee, while Ezra motioned for Aria to sit on the chair next to the one he claimed as his. She didn't mind, this was her favorite chair anyway.

"So, you come here often?" Aria asked. Ezra nodded his head.

"Yeah. I've come here basically every day since I moved here seven years ago."

Aria's breath caught. What if she had seen him here and never realized it? "Yeah," she choked out, hoping he didn't notice, "Um, me too."


	3. The Mess We've Made

**A/N: I'm floored by your guys' support for this story. I honestly am so happy to read that you guys actually like my writing! Haha. For all of those who have reviewed, this one's for you. Keep reviewing, I love hearing what you guys think. It literally keeps me going and reminds me why I love writing in the first place.**

**I'm not positive how many more chapters there are, but I've decided to take it day by day. I'm going to keep going on this for as long as you guys want me to, or until I feel like I can't stretch it out anymore. That being said, I think I have a couple more ideas rolling around in my mind, so I'm just going to take them and run with it. We'll see what happens. :)**

**The song in this chapter is called "Mess We've Made" by AJ Rafael and Tori Kelly. Check it out on Youtube, it's an amazing song, and you won't regret listening to it, I promise.**

**- J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except the characters you don't recognize. I especially don't own this song. I wish I did, but I don't. Haha.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three- "The Mess We've Made"<strong>

Ezra shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Oh, so, you've been coming here, too?"

Aria nodded lightly, "Um, yeah. Ever since I moved here, which was about six years ago as of last week." She tucked a stray curl behind her ear, "The girls and I had just moved in, we didn't have a coffee maker, and we were dying for caffeine. I volunteered to go look for a Starbucks, and after a few minutes of walking around, amid feelings of desperation, I found this shop. Needless to say, we don't miss Starbucks in the least bit." She added a tiny laugh at the end for good measure, but even to her own ears, it sounded forced.

Ezra simply nodded, said nothing in return. The tension between them was palpable, even if Aria had thought that her impromptu hug had lightened the air. Wrong.

Aria opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off as a little girl with curly, dark brown hair and clear blue eyes came running towards her, gripping Aria's legs. "Mommy!"

Although Aria had no idea who this girl was, she couldn't help but smile down at the adorable child grasping onto her legs. "I'm sorry sweetie, I'm not your mommy, but I can help you find her."

"Dawn, get back here! Haven't I told you before never to run away like that?" A tall, slender woman called from across the shop. She came over to pry her daughter's hands off of Aria. "I'm so sorry, I just took my eyes off of her for a split second and she went running off."

"It's no problem at all. You have a very adorable daughter," Aria said, shaking hands and gaining a smile from Dawn's mother.

"Thank you very much. Anyway, we should probably get back in line. I'm so sorry again," Dawn's mother said, pulling Dawn's hand.

Dawn turned around and grinned winningly at Aria, "Bye!" Aria waved goodbye to Dawn and looked towards Ezra- who was wiping coffee from the table in front of them and was struggling to catch his breath.

Just as Aria was going to ask him what had happened, Mandy arrived, Aria's cup of coffee in hand. "Thank you so much!" Aria emphatically responded as Mandy handed her the cup. If their entire meeting was going to be this awkward, she needed this coffee to help her get through it.

"It's no problem at all," Mandy replied. Sensing the apprehension between the two, she began to walk away, but stopped midway and, over her shoulder, called out to Aria. "Oh, Aria, we have the piano and mic set up in the corner if you wanted to perform tonight. We're sorry you didn't get to do it last week, the mics weren't working right for some reason."

Aria blushed, "Thanks. Maybe not tonight, though." Mandy nodded and resumed her place behind the counter again, taking the order of the man waiting impatiently.

She could feel Ezra's eyes on her. "So, you sing in public now? I remember you used to not let anyone hear you sing, you were always so nervous about performing."

"Yeah, well, things have changed now, haven't they?" she replied harshly, purely unintentional.

She watched as Ezra averted his eyes away from hers and cleared her throat, wanting to clarify what she meant. "I, um, I mean now I perform to actually get rid of my nerves. It helps calm me down when I'm under stress." She eyed the piano longingly. Right now would be a great time to perform, those nerves were starting to get to her.

* * *

><p>Ezra watched as a little girl came running up to Aria. His eyes widened as he saw this little girl had the same color hair and eyes as himself, and when she proceeded to grip Aria's legs and yell out "Mommy!", that's when Ezra lost it.<p>

Luckily, he was holding a napkin in his hands. Unluckily, he had just taken a large gulp of his coffee when he nearly had a heart attack. Ezra choked and spat it out all over himself and the table in front of him, much to the humor of the three teenage girls browsing the magazines nearby. Sadly, they looked to be three of his students, also. Perfect, just what he needed.

He breathed a sigh of relief as the girl's mother came running up at that moment to take this little girl, Dawn, he thought he heard the woman call her, back with her. So it wasn't a secret child Aria had been hiding, waiting to reveal at the right moment. His heart slowed down its fast paced beating by just a fraction. Once everything was settled with the girl, he saw Aria watching him, tempted to ask what had happened, but at the same time, Mandy came over with her coffee. He was saved.

Ezra tried to catch his breath while he listened to the exchange between Mandy and Aria, curious to hear that Aria now performed on a weekly basis at his local haunt. How had he never seen her before? He watched Aria blush, that beautiful rosy color creeping up on her cheeks, as she politely refused. He couldn't deny that he was slightly disappointed, he wanted to hear her beautiful voice.

She was watching him. "So, you sing in public now? I remember you used to not let anyone hear you sing, you were always so nervous about performing," he noted, eagerly taking advantage of the change in subject. Anything to keep her talking.

"Yeah, well, things have changed now, haven't they?" Ezra felt a stab to his heart as she muttered those words. He averted his eyes. He knew he deserved it, he _was_ the one who had caused this whole mess in the first place.

Aria cleared her throat, embarrassed she had let the situation, and her emotions, get the best of her. "I, um, I mean now I perform to actually get rid of my nerves. It helps calm me down when I'm under stress." He nodded, knowing that this meeting would be probably be classified as 'stressful' to him.

They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking their coffee and taking in their surroundings, anything that would keep them from looking at each other.

"Aria-"

"Ezra-"

Aria laughed awkwardly. "Please, go ahead," Ezra said. Even if this whole conversation was uncomfortable, he was never one to forget his manners.

Aria languid smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared. "I this that this may have been a bad idea. Maybe we rushed into meeting too soon."

* * *

><p>This was too hard for her. She couldn't stand sitting across from the man she had once been in love with, erase that, the man she was <em>still<em> in love with, and spend the entire time in silence. She couldn't watch as the entire relationship they had built up fell to pieces. Yes, technically it had _already_ fallen to pieces, but that was besides the point. She didn't want all of their happy memories to be tainted by another regrettable one. She just couldn't stand there and watch that happen.

"Ezra-"

"Aria-"

She laughed slightly, Ezra letting her speak first. She allowed a smile to touch the corners of her lips, if only for a split second, before saying, "I think this may have been a bad idea. Maybe we rushed into meeting too soon," she told Ezra, the two sentences blending together to sound like one almost incomprehensible blurb in her mind.

Ezra wore a smile on his face and nodded his head in agreement, but Aria had known him long enough to see that he masked his true emotions. His smile was strained, forced, he nodded his head heavily, and there was no hiding the pained expression that darkened his blue eyes.

"No, I understand. I completely agree," Ezra replied, standing up, coffee cup in hand.

"I'm so sorry, maybe we could talk on Facebook sometime? I really did like talking to you again." Aria stood up at the same time, head tilted down, shifting her feet uncomfortably.

She tensed and flinched away as Ezra brought two fingers up to tilt her head up to look at him. He quickly pulled his hand away and brought it back down to his side. "Sorry. Habit, I guess," a sheepish smile coming to his face. "For what it's worth, I liked talking to you again, too."

Aria nodded while Ezra pulled on his coat. "I guess we'll talk soon, then?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded his head. "Soon. Bye, Aria."

And just like that, he was gone. With a groan, she walked up to Mandy.

"Does that invitation still stand?"

* * *

><p>Ezra had made it all the way back to his apartment building when he realized he had forgotten to take Aria's book, it was still lying on the table where they sat. Mentally scolding himself for not remembering sooner, he made his way back to the coffee shop, hoping no one had taken it.<p>

Walking up to the shop, he saw a crowd gathered inside and could hear music pouring out of the speakers. He opened the door just in time to hear a beautiful voice beginning to move along with the music playing in the background.

_I'd been so strong for so long,_

_I could handle everything._

_But now that'd you've gone through that door,_

_I can't see anything._

Ezra stood in the back of the crowd, entranced by the piano tune drifting from under the woman's hands and the soft flow of her voice. He listened closer, he knew that voice. He could recognize that voice from anywhere.

_I was hoping that this would last,_

_I guess I was wrong._

_I planned out our future together,_

_But now that's all gone._

_Another mistake,_

_We're both to blame._

_So just let this come crashing down,_

_There's no way to fix it now,_

_We're lost in the crowd._

_And our love will soon decay,_

_Just look at the mess we've made._

_We both know that we can't stay._

This was the Aria he knew. This was the Aria that loved to take chances, put her entire heart into everything that she did, and never regretted a single thing. This Aria he remembered, although there was something different in her voice, something more powerful, like she had experienced the situation in the song. Almost as if she had written it herself, although he knew she hadn't. Even though technically he had no claim over her, but he couldn't deny it, this was _his _Aria.

* * *

><p>Aria sat down at the keyboard on the makeshift stage they created after she first performed, while Mandy introduced her to the crowd. The sound of the crowd clapping and cheering her on gave her the courage to begin. They always did.<p>

"Hi everyone, this is a cover of a song I heard on the radio a few days ago. It kind of summarizes my feelings right at this very moment," she said with a nervous chuckle. She looked out at the crowd and whispered softly, "This one's for you," even though she knew he wasn't there to hear it.

Her hands began to glide over the keyboard. She closed her eyes, letting herself slip into the song. It wasn't as if she needed to see what keys her fingers were pressing, she knew this song by heart.

A few minutes later, when she played the ending chord and sang the last note, she opened her eyes from her trance. The crowd was silent for a few moments before breaking out into a loud chorus of applause. Aria grinned and released a huge gasp of air, feeling completely relaxed and calm, the exact reason why she decided to perform in the first place.

Aria bowed for the crowd and picked up her bag from the floor beside the piano. Pushing her way through the crowd, stopping to say thank you to those who congratulated her on such a great performance, she gave Mandy a huge hug and began to make her way to the chair she left her sweater on. Finally reaching the end of the crowd, she stopped short. She could feel the blood drain from her face as she saw Ezra was beside the chair, the book she had given him in hand, also trying to maneuver through the crowd and out the door.

So he _had_ been there to hear him. She could feel her pulse begin to race a little bit, but she chalked it up to the endorphins. _No_, he couldn't have been there. It's not as if he had read her mind and known she was going to sing, so he decided to stay and listen. No, he probably just realized he forgot something, came back after she had performed, and left. Yes, that was the only logical explanation she had for why he was there when it was.

Aria waited to make sure he left the shop so she could grab her sweater and make a run for it. Once she was sure, she pulled her sweater on and began walking towards the door. The sun was setting early tonight, meaning by the time she left at 4:30, the sky was a gorgeous pink, orange, indigo color, and the air was just a tad bit colder than it was when she left her apartment. It was the perfect setting for her to walk home and clear her mind.

She decided to take the long way home. Slipping in her headphones, she pressed play on her iPod, a desperate attempt to shut out everything else in the outside world. She had a lot on her mind to think about, and she didn't need to deal with the distracting problems of the world at the same time.

* * *

><p>Ezra stood there, shocked by the emotion she poured into the song. There was absolutely no denying it, this song was for him.<p>

Ezra was by no means self-centered, but he knew that when she said the words, "This one's for you," she meant that it was for him. Aria always had a way with words, making sure that every word she chose was the appropriate one for the situation. She always had a way of letting you know, even as you eavesdropped from across the room, that what she was saying was meant for you, was _about _you.

Aria had to have known he was going to hear her sing. Okay, maybe that was pushing it a little, maybe he was getting a little full of himself to think that, but there was a part of him that hoped she knew he was there.

He stood there for a few moments, next to the chairs they had sat in minutes before, holding the book she had given to him. While her words and melody fell over him, surrounded him, he opened the book, reading the inscription she scribbled for him.

_Ezra,_

_I would've written you a note, but I figured that the dedication inside would say everything a lot better than I could right now._

_-Aria_

He flipped to the next page and read the dedication inside.

"_When you need to leave Rosewood."_

_Thank you for helping me escape my problems. You were always there for me when I needed you, even when I pushed you away. If you're reading this right now, wherever you're reading this, know that I will always love you. I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for me, given to me, and taught me. You will always be my inspiration._

_- B-26_

Ezra smiled to himself and closed the book just in time for Aria to finish her song. He looked over and saw her walking over to where he was standing and knew that if he didn't leave now, she would see him. He figured that them seeing each other right now after Aria poured her heart out wouldn't exactly be the best idea, so he quickly tried to push through the crowd before she saw him.

He would send her a little message on Facebook later, thanking her for meeting him for coffee, but he wouldn't mention that he heard her sing or that he read the dedication. Not just yet. He would give them a little time to recover, a little time to try to go back to normal. Until then, he would read her book and be transported back to Rosewood, instead of leave it.

* * *

><p>By the time Aria had reached her apartment building, her head was clear, and there was no denying it- Ezra had heard her sing. Although she wouldn't admit it to anyone who asked, she was a little thrilled by the idea of him hearing her sing, of him hearing every single emotion she was holding in, poured out into a song.<p>

She had begun to sing in public when she first moved to New York. She couldn't remember what had happened that night, something about a rejection letter from a publisher, her boyfriend had decided that they should take a break, or some other deeply depressing scenario like that. Aria scoffed. She found it funny that it wasn't the event that she remembered clearly, it was, instead, her three best friends, pushing her up to the keyboard to perform for the first time.

Aria refused, reminded them that she did not sing in public, and that the rest of the coffee shop should not have to subjected to her horrible singing. They, in return, refused to listen to her and forced her up on stage, threatening to lock her out of their apartment if she didn't sing. At the time, Aria was furious with them, how could they let her go up on stage and make of fool of herself?

However, as soon as she placed her hands on the keyboard and let the music flow, she was surprised to learn that performing was quite therapeutic. She learned to channel all her emotions into the song that she was singing, which, in turn, helped keep her from making stupid decisions she would later regret. Ever since that night, she returned every single week, without fail, save for the rare holidays that they were closed or a trip back to Rosewood. And her friends knew, right from the beginning, that that's exactly what would happen.

Deep in thought, Aria hadn't even noticed she bumped into someone outside her building. It was a guy, he was tall and wearing a black sweater, that much she knew. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, walking hastily into the building, not even so much as stopping to see the guy that she had run into.

Just as she stepped foot into the building, she saw the elevator doors open, releasing the people inside. Aria ran in before the doors closed, pressing the button for the 3rd floor. She didn't hear the guy she had run into outside, calling her name and asking for her to, please, hold the door. Instead, all she heard was the music blasting from her headphones, keeping the world in front of her at bay, even just for that small moment in time.

* * *

><p>Ezra was thinking about Aria. It wasn't a first, she almost always grazed across his mind at least once a day, however right now, he was <em>really<em> thinking about her. He was thinking about her song, he was thinking about her dedication to him in her novel, he was thinking about the way she looked today, older, more mature. He thought about the way her hair curled perfectly, the way her green eyes, at first guarded, sparkled when he hugged her back. He thought about the way she shied away from his touch, admitting that he did move a little too quickly. He wasn't even paying attention to where he was headed, he just let his feet lead wherever they wanted to go. He was just thinking about _her._

It was the first time in a long time that he had let himself think about her so much, so thoroughly. When they were separated, he forced himself to forget about her, convinced that that was what she had done to him. He was nothing but a memory to her. That much was fair, he supposed, it was what he deserved. He was used to not allowing himself to think about her. However, _letting _himself think about her was something new.

From what he had gathered- gathered, analyzed, picked apart to pieces, it meant the same thing to him- from their quick meeting tonight was: a) She moved to the city less than a year after he did, b) She frequented the same coffee shop that he did, c) They do not, thank God, have some sort of secret child together, and d) They had spent all this time within what seemed to be a five mile radius, but had never run into each other. All this was enough to make his brain hurt.

Maybe what he needed right now was to stop thinking about Aria and have a drink. A drink would clear his mind a bit. Suddenly he couldn't wait to get home. And a few minutes later, he ended up in front of his apartment building. "I really need that drink," Ezra muttered to himself, walking a few more steps to the entrance. He was digging in his pocket, trying to fish out his keys, when he ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman said, walking away quickly. She didn't even stop to look at him. He was getting ready to apologize when stopped, a foot short of the door. Wait, he recognized that voice. It couldn't have been…

"Aria?" he called out to the woman practically sprinting towards the open elevator. "Aria? Aria! _Aria!_ Wait, please! Hold the doors!" But it was too late, the doors were already closed, and she was gone.

He stood in front of the closed elevator doors. What was she doing in his building? She couldn't possibly…no, that couldn't be right. She couldn't possibly be living in the same building, could she?

Ezra shook his head and began walking up the stairs. That couldn't have been Aria, it was probably just some woman he thought looked like her. Yeah, that sounded more plausible. He had thought so much about her that his mind made someone up to look like her. It was nothing more than just a figment of his imagination. He was positive.


	4. Crossed Signals

**A/N: I hope everyone had a good weekend! Over my weekend, I got to thinking, and I finally know where I'm going with this story. Let's just say, this chapter and the next kind of serve as fillers, and the chapters after that is where things start to pick up. I've been working for a couple days on two future chapters, and if things go as planned, they should be up this week. I'm hoping. No promises, though, it depends on if I'm satisfied with how they're written.**

**I just wanted to say, in warning, the next couple chapters might not be as long as the last couple ones are. We'll see how it goes. And if it kind of seems like this chapter dragged along, that's because I got a mild case of writer's block trying to write this, but I think it turned out okay. I'm not impressed, but it'll do. I tried, at least. It'll get better, I promise. Haha.**

**Once again, thank you so much for your kind reviews, I really appreciate them. Please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think, it really means a lot to me and helps me improve. :)**

**- J**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own anything. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Four- "Crossed Signals"<strong>

One week. It had been exactly one week since Aria's disastrous meeting with Ezra. In that week, they had had little correspondence between each other, just a message sent by Ezra thanking her for meeting with him and that he was sorry that everything was so awkward and complicated between them, and he hoped that they could still be friends. Aria responded back the next day saying that she was sorry, also, and that of course they could still be friends. How hard could it be?

And yet, it had been six days since she sent that message, and she hadn't heard a single thing from him. Ever since he came back into her life, she couldn't stop thinking about him. It was pathetic, for 8 years, she hadn't had any contact with him, and she was fine. She didn't waste any minutes thinking about him, she didn't wonder where he was, and she didn't care.

Actually, that was a lie. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she thought about him every single day, wondering where he was, wondering who he was with, wondering what he was doing at that moment. Not that she let anyone know about that- as far as anyone close to her was concerned, Ezra Fitz was nothing more than a teacher that had left her class halfway through the year to go teach at Hollis. Not even her friends knew that she still thought about him.

Why did she ever let him back into her life? She knew from the moment she got that message from him that it was going to be bad news. But no, she fought against her better judgment and met up with him, calming her conscience by telling herself that she had no expectations, that this was nothing more than just a meeting with an old friend for coffee.

Except that it was so much more than that. In agreeing to meet Ezra for coffee, she was opening up old wounds, making herself vulnerable to falling in love with him again. Of course, it wasn't as if she had ever stopped, anyway. But, once again, that was besides the point. She knew that by meeting him, she was opening herself up to the disaster that would, for sure, come. And yet, she was completely willing to.

"Aria, you better be out of bed and getting ready right now, our train for Rosewood leaves in an hour and we need to be at Penn Station in 30 minutes! Hurry up!" Spencer yelled from the living room.

Aria groaned. She, of course, had been fully dressed and ready for the last hour, but she was still in her room, stalking her Facebook page, hoping for some sort of message from Ezra. And as she refreshed the page, for what seemed to be the thousandth time, she knew none would come. She shut down her laptop and placed it in her bag.

Getting up from her desk, she took one last look at the picture of her and Ezra and scoffed. "Yeah, so much for no expectations," she muttered to herself. Shaking her head, she rolled her suitcase behind her and closed the door to her bedroom.

As she walked to the living room, she saw Spencer lazily lounging on the couch, her suitcase and bag already waiting beside the front door. Emily and Hanna were nowhere to be found. Aria rolled her suitcase over to the door and placed her bag down beside Spencer's before sitting down on the loveseat. "Where's Emily and Hanna?"

Spencer laughed, "Still asleep, our train doesn't actually leave for another two hours." Aria narrowed her eyes at Spencer, who held her hands up in protest. "Hey, I was just thinking that we could go out for coffee while they got ready. You never did tell me what happened between you and Mr. Fitz on your date last week," she said, taunting Aria.

"There's nothing _to_ tell. Ezra and I met up for coffee, _NOT _a date, we talked for a few minutes. It was awkward, we were both uncomfortable, so I suggested we just try it again another time," Aria replied nonchalantly, trying her best to mask her disappointment.

Spencer eyed Aria skeptically, "Aria, I know you better than that. What really happened?"

Aria sighed, and gave in. It was getting difficult for her to hold in all of these thoughts in her head. "Okay, fine. Look, let's go for coffee and I'll explain everything then."

Spencer smiled and grabbed her bag. She stood up and waited for Aria to lead the way. Aria scribbled a quick note to Hanna and Emily telling them that they went out to pick up some coffee and would be back soon before walking out of their apartment and locking the door.

"Stairs or elevator?" Aria asked Spencer.

"Stairs, the elevator never works for me."

"It must hate you, it worked for me a couple times last week," Aria said with a laugh.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Hurry up, lets go before they wake up and decide to come with us. You'll never be able to tell me what happened then."

Aria agreed, and the two made their way down the stairs. When they reached the lobby, they had made it just in time to see a cute guy wearing jeans and a Hollis sweatshirt walk through the double doors. Aria grabbed Spencer's arm, who had kept walking, oblivious to what Aria had just seen.

"Ow! Aria, what are you doing?" Spencer yelled as Aria pulled her around the corner to hide.

"Shh! Look over there at the guy who is walking towards the elevator," she whispered, pointing at the guy.

Spencer followed Aria's gaze and smiled, watching as the guy walked into the elevator carrying a black leather messenger bag, "Oh, he _is _cute. And he obviously lives in this building, too." She watched as Aria's eyes grew wider. "Why? What's wrong?"

Aria's voice came out as a whisper, "He's wearing a Hollis sweatshirt."

"Who? That guy? No way!" Spencer asked, surprised that someone here in New York would be wearing a sweatshirt from the college in their town. "Who do you think it was?"

There was no denying it. "That was Ezra."

* * *

><p>Ezra had spent the last week stressed and worked to the max. On Monday, as soon as he stepped foot into the school, the principal ushered him into his office and surprised him with the task of supervising an three-night field trip to Washington D.C.- that would begin on Wednesday. Needless to say, Ezra was less than excited to have to not only design a lesson plan for his sub to use on Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday, but actually <em>find<em> a sub on such short notice.

He decided that instead of coming up with a complicated, full blown lesson plan for his sub to follow, which would mean having to print out worksheets, type up directions, and make sure his students brought the necessary items needed to complete the assignments, he decided that his students would spend two days rewriting the essays they wrote analyzing _To Kill a Mockingbird_, and on Friday, they would take a pop quiz. Of course he wouldn't actually grade it or put it into their grades, it was just for show. But they didn't have to know that.

The downside, to using this plan, however, was that that would mean having to actually grade all 62 essays in two nights, he taught a staggering three periods of AP English, but in comparison to making lesson plans, this was the better way to go.

By Wednesday, he decided that, after spending two full nights preparing everything, this was not the smartest decision. But, he survived. Arriving at school the next day with a small messenger bag that contained a change of clothes, a book and his laptop, he was actually looking forward to a few days away from the school.

By the time he arrived back in New York City on Saturday morning, he was exhausted. After getting dropped off by the bus at the school, he quickly hailed a cab, desperate to get back home and have a nice nap- that would, preferably, last until he had to go back to work on Monday morning.

All that changed once he actually made it to his building. Hastily walking through the lobby, he pushed the up button on the elevator, mentally willing it to open. He was not in the mood to actually walk up four flights of stairs today. The elevator doors opened and he practically ran in, incessantly pushing the number 4, wishing that it would move faster so that he could get into his apartment, drop down on his bed, and sleep forever.

Ezra could hardly contain his excitement when the doors opened to his floor and he had finally made it to his apartment. Pushing the key into the lock and turning it, he listened with satisfaction as he heard the lock click and the door creak open. He was finally home.

Suddenly he didn't feel so tired, all he wanted to do was sit on his couch with a pillow and blanket, a bowl of popcorn, an old movie, and his laptop. After spending three nights in a 5-star hotel with overpriced food that charged a ridiculously large price for internet access, he couldn't wait to finally check all of his favorite websites. The lack of internet access made him feel incredibly cut off from the world, and it made him realize how much he relied on it. He made a mental note to try and cut back on his internet usage, although he knew it would probably never happen.

The first thing he did, after changing into his pajamas, turning on the TV to _The Way We Were_, popping popcorn, and settling into his couch, of course, was turn on his laptop and log onto Facebook. This was the first time he had logged on ever since he sent Aria that message after their tense meeting last week, and he couldn't help but be pleased that there was a message from her waiting for him.

_Aria Montgomery_

_I'm sorry, also, that our meeting was so awkward. It wasn't all your fault, I'll admit, I'm partly to blame, too. I think it was because we decided to see each other so soon. I'd really like to try be friends again, but I think it might take some time getting used to each other again. I say we just take it day by day and see how everything goes._

Ezra could live with that. As long as it meant that they still had a chance to be together, he was fine with whatever her decision was. If she wanted to take it slow, take it day by day, start off as friends, he didn't mind. He didn't blame her if she wanted to move into things with him with caution, he needed to earn back her trust, and he was willing to do whatever it took to do it.

_Ezra Fitz_

_I completely agree. Whatever you think is best, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get us back to normal. Back to the way we were. I miss hanging out with you in my apartment eating Chinese take-out and talking. If taking things day by day means that we can eventually get back to that, then I'm all for it._

_By the way, I'm sorry for sending this message so late, I was coerced into chaperoning this school field trip to D.C. and I just got home now._

It wasn't long after he sent his reply that he fell into a deep sleep, not to wake up until the morning after.

* * *

><p>Instead of going out for coffee, Aria and Spencer ran back up to their apartment. It was decided, Aria needed to tell Hanna and Emily, just in case they ever saw him in the building and freaked out.<p>

Walking into the apartment, Spencer yelled for Hanna and Emily. A few seconds later, Emily came walking down their stairs still dressed in her pajamas, obviously just woken up, and Hanna joined a minute later, drying her hair with a towel.

"I thought you guys were going out for coffee, where is it?" Hanna asked, looking around the kitchen.

"Let's just say we didn't make it past the lobby," Spencer said cautiously.

"Why? What happened?" Emily asked with a yawn as she laid down on the couch.

Hanna pushed Emily's feet out of the way and sat down on the other side of the couch, while Spencer sat on the loveseat, and Aria stayed standing. "Look, I haven't been completely honest with you guys. Well, technically I have, but you were just too drunk to understand."

"Go on," Hanna said, curious to hear what Aria's news was.

"Um, I went out on a coffee 'date', and when I say 'date', I use that term very loosely. Last week. With Ezra."

Emily and Hanna's mouths dropped open as they heard the name of their ex-English teacher escape from Aria's mouth.

"You did? How? He came to visit? How'd he know you were here? Is he still cute?" The barrage of questions came at lightning speed from Emily and Hanna's mouth. Aria held up a hand to stop them.

"Calm down. I'll explain everything," she said, sitting down next to Spencer. "Last week, I got a friend request from him out of the blue. I added him, and when I looked at his profile, I saw that he was living here in New York City, also. As soon as I added him, he sent me a message asking me if I wanted to meet up for coffee. I met him, it was totally awkward, we left about 15 minutes. He sent me a message asking if we could be friends, I replied saying of course we could, and I haven't heard anything from him since." The entire story came out in a rush, Aria not really stopping once for a breath.

"You're kidding, right?" Emily asked.

"Far from it," Aria said. "And, that's not even the best part," she said, pausing for effect. She watched as Emily and Hanna involuntarily leaned forward. "When we were going downstairs to pick up coffee, we saw him in the lobby. Walking into the elevator. He lives in this building!"

"No freakin' way!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Yeah, totally crazy, right? I mean, he was telling me that he's been living in this city for 7 years, what if he's been our neighbor this entire time? For God's sake, we've been going to the same coffee shop and never even noticed!"

"Maybe it wasn't him, maybe it was just a guy you _thought_ was Mr. Fitz," Emily rationalized.

Aria shook her head, "No, it definitely had to be him. What other guy is his height, has curly dark brown hair, blue eyes, _and_ wears a Hollis sweatshirt? It's him, I'm positive."

"Well, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to tell him?" Emily asked.

Aria dropped her head into her hands, "Ugh, I don't know. I thought things were complicated back in Rosewood, but it seems like it's much worse out here! I need to get away. I need these four days in Rosewood to think and get away from the city," she muttered.

"Which is why you two," Spencer said, pointing at Emily and Hanna, "need to get a move on getting dressed. We need to be out of here in 30 minutes."

Hanna and Emily nodded and went off to finish getting ready while Aria fiddled with the coffee machine. "So, what _are_ you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"I mean, you can't just hide from him the entire time. What happens if you see him in the hall? Or in the lobby? Or if you got stuck with him in the elevator?"

"I don't know, Spence. I really don't know what to do," Aria said, placing the carafe on the counter beside her as she leaned against it.

"Well think of it this way, at least you'll have the four days in Rosewood to think about it."

Aria smiled, "Just what I needed."

* * *

><p>Ezra woke up from his sleep to find popcorn strewn on the floor, along with his laptop and pillow, and a bad infomercial on the TV. Sitting up, he rubbed his stiff neck, wondering how he had falling asleep and how long he was out for. Picking up his pillow and laptop and placing it on the couch, he turned on the lamp beside him and walked into the kitchen.<p>

3:41 AM. Damn, had he really slept the entire day? It was unbelievable how he had wasted so much time asleep when he could've been doing more worthwhile, like grading papers, or doing laundry, or- who was he kidding? He was glad to finally have been able to have an entire day where he did absolutely nothing.

He opened his fridge and took out a container of chow mein and popped it into the microwave, setting it for two minutes. He leaned against his counter. Ezra had learned from a very young age that deep sleep was a very dangerous thing for him, only because it always meant that when he woke up, he was refreshed, meant his mind was clear enough to wander. And whenever his mind wandered, it never ended well.

For the entire minute, his mind raced all over the place. How long exactly have I been asleep for? What did I dream about? I wonder how I fell asleep in the first place. Is my laptop broken? Even though it fell on the floor, it still works, right? I wonder what's going on on Facebook. Did Aria reply? The beeping of his microwave shook him from his thoughts, pulling him back into the real world.

Ezra pulled out the chow mein from the microwave and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Making his way back to the couch, he turned on all the lights and placed his food on the table in front of him before pulling his laptop onto his lap.

Of course, he was still logged on. He refreshed the page, and, curiously, found that there was no reply from Aria. He found that strange because, usually, whenever he sent her a message, she replied back within at least an hour. It was one of her traits that endlessly amused him.

He blew it off, figuring she was busy and hadn't had time to check her messages. It wasn't as if he was expecting her to reply right away, he knew she had other things to tend to. And yet, he couldn't escape that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, telling him that she was angry with him.

It wasn't long after he finished eating and changed the channel that he found himself asleep again, whisked away with dreams of discovering that the girl he saw in the lobby really was Aria, and that she had been living in the same building as him, in the apartment right under him, all this time. It was a strange dream, but he couldn't help it, he felt oddly comforted by it. Maybe because he knew that it would never happen.

* * *

><p>By the time Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna made it into Rosewood, it was already past 5. The train had been set to leave at 11, however, due to some random mishaps, the train didn't actually leave the station until 3. The train ride was relatively smooth, save for some mix-up with the girls being served vegetarian meals, since Hanna had accidentally clicked on that option when booking the tickets. When they arrived at the station, they were picked up by Ella, who drove them the two hours to Rosewood.<p>

Needless to say, by the time Aria got into her own room, the girls had separated for the night and would meet up again tomorrow morning to prepare for the unveiling of Hanna's boutique, and plopped onto the bed, she was exhausted. All she wanted to do was read some mindless gossip on the internet and check out what was new on Facebook. However, when she tried to connect to the internet, she found that she couldn't.

"Mom? What's wrong with the internet connection?" Aria called down to her mother downstairs.

"Sorry honey, the internet's down this week. Something about a bad connection downtown that they need to fix. They turned off everyone's connection in this town until next Saturday."

Aria rubbed her cheek. Great, no internet this entire time she would be here? That was depressing. How was she supposed to keep up on current events now?

She closed up her laptop and leaned back onto her bed. She said wanted to be cut off from the city, and she got exactly what she wanted. However, she didn't expect that it would come at the expense of a very anxious Ezra, sitting in New York, waiting to hear back from her to calm his mind and assure him that, no, she was not angry with him.


	5. Opportunity Isn't Just Knocking

**A/N: I have to say, this chapter and the next are probably my two most favorite chapters I've ever written for any of my stories. It's funny, when I first started writing this chapter, I was completely blocked and I had no idea what to write, but inspiration hit after watching last night's episode, and this is what came out. I'll try to keep this short so you can start reading- as a heads up, this is written slightly differently than the last few chapters. And forgive any typos I may have missed, I finished and edited this at almost 3 AM and, needless to say, I probably missed quite a few. Haha.**

**Please, please, please, please, _please_ review, I'd love to know what you guys think about this chapter. Considering it's one of my favorites, I think you all may like it. At least, I hope. Haha. Anyway, thank you for the reviews that I've been already gotten, I always do love reading them. :)**

**Enjoy! -J**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except for Mandy, Tristan Hill, Hanna's boutique Je Ne Sais Quoi, and possibly the plot of Aria's novels. I came up with those off the top of my head, and if they bear any resemblance to anything out there already, it was not intentional.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five- "Opportunity Isn't Just Knocking, It's Banging Down The Whole Damn Door"<strong>

"That was probably the most exhausting day of my life," Hanna muttered as she sunk down into her chair. Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer had just finished up the opening of Hanna's boutique, Je Ne Sais Quoi, and were finally getting their first free moment in three days.

From the time they woke up the day after they arrived, they took the ground running, helping Hanna every hour of the following three days to set up and prepare for the opening. From picking up flower arrangements, creating a playlist, making sure the caterers and DJ were booked and ready to go- it was the combined effort of the girls. Mainly it was because Hanna didn't trust anyone else with "her vision", and Spencer was so organized and OCD about getting every detail right that there was no need for Hanna to hire someone else to plan it out.

Even though everything had been prepared and confirmed yesterday, when today rolled around, there was still a lot for the girls to do to keep them busy. Aria was stuck with the task of fixing the arrangements and making sure the clothing was in order, Emily had the job of making sure the DJ was spinning the right music, Hanna was the guest of honor, greeting everyone and making her rounds at the party, while Spencer made sure everything was running smoothly. It was a group effort, and by the end of the day, the entire group was drained.

Instead of going back to Aria's house where they were all spending the night, they figured it'd be easier to stay there since their train would be leaving early in the morning and Aria's mother would be driving them again, not to mention it would be nostalgic to have a sleepover in Aria's room again, the girls decided to stop and have dinner at their favorite restaurant in Rosewood.

"I literally feel like I could sleep forever," Aria responded, plopping down into her own seat.

"Remember, our train leaves at nine, so we need to be up by five and out of the house by six," Spencer said, opening up and browsing her menu, while Hanna looked at Emily and Aria and rolled her eyes, holding back silent snickers. "I saw that."

"Saw what? We didn't do anything," Hanna said innocently, as Aria and Emily grinned at each other.

"Hanna, I know you better than that, we used to do the same thing in Aria's mom's History class all throughout high school."

"Whatever," Hanna sighed, obviously losing the battle. "What are you guys ordering?"

* * *

><p>Two hours later, the girls were lying around Aria's room, sipping the coffee and eating the desserts they had picked up before leaving the restaurant, and reminiscing over old times.<p>

"Remember that time in 4th grade when Noel Kahn was trying to impress Alison by trying to steal the Snickers bar off of our teacher's desk and he ended up getting in trouble and got stuck staying after school for two weeks to clean up?"

"Then after recess, Ali walked right up to the teacher and asked him for the Snickers and he gave it to her."

"And Ali went over to Noel and taunted him. I still remember her exact words, 'See, that wasn't hard. If you want to be friends with me, you have to try harder than that'," Hanna finished.

Aria sighed, "Even when we were all that young, Ali always knew what she wanted, knew how to go for it, and got it."

"It was always what she was best at," Emily mumbled.

"You know, there are times I miss her. I still think that one day, she's just going to pop out of nowhere and put her arms around us, telling us that we should go out and take risks, cause some trouble," Hanna said.

Aria nodded knowingly, "It's so weird to think that it's been almost ten years since Ali was murdered, and there still aren't any real leads."

"Yeah, well, at least all of our names were cleared. Not to mention, 'A' is gone," Spencer replied.

"I hope one day that bastard is caught. I don't care if it takes them another ten, twenty, thirty years, I hope they find the sick person who killed her and they get locked up," Emily seethed.

The other three girls agreed. Although Alison had often corrupted and blackmailed them, she was still one of their closest friends, their best friend. Alison deserved justice for the crime committed against her, which was the only reason why Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna had worked so hard to find her killer in the first place.

There were still times Aria felt guilty that she stopped searching so hard to find Ali's killer, but she had to remind herself, there wasn't anything more that she could do. She told the police everything she knew, she had even worked with the girls to find the killer on their own, but nothing they did was ever enough, and it often led them to more trouble.

The shrill ringing of Aria's phone broke them out of their trance. "Who would be calling at this time?" Aria asked herself as she grabbed her phone off of the bed behind her, checking the number. Unknown.

She couldn't help but be terrified to answer it. Years later, the terror that was 'A' still had a little bit of power over her. But, she reminded herself, 'A' was long gone, never to be seen again. All of their secrets were out in the open. Well, okay, almost all of them.

To this day, no one knew anything about her and Ezra and what had happened between them years back. When Ezra was still working at Hollis, her father often raved about how well Ezra was fitting in with the other professors and how he got along so well with his students, and Aria tried so hard to feign indifference, but, truth be told, she listened to every word, slightly depressed that he was moving on so well, while she was still stuck in the past. His past.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Emily asked, curious as to why Aria just sat there, staring at her phone.

"Oh, yeah," Aria said, pressing the green talk button. "Hello?"

"Is this Aria Montgomery?" a man with a smooth, cheerful voice asked.

"Yes, who's asking?" Aria asked cautiously. No one was this cheerful this late at night.

"I'm sorry to be calling so late, but my name is Tristan Hill. I'm with the San Francisco Chronicle."

"Mmhmm," Aria said, holding the phone with her shoulder. Emily, Spencer and Hanna looked at her expectantly, but Aria ignored them, holding up one finger to signal that she'd tell them in a few minutes.

"A few weeks ago a colleague of mine passed a file of your writing samples to look over, and I must say, I was very impressed."

"Really?" Aria asked hopefully. They watched her with anxious eyes, asking her what was going on. She waved them off.

Tristan chuckled. "Yes, really. And, if I may say so, off the record, I'm a huge fan of your writing. I picked up your book the day it came out, and I immediately devoured it. It took me almost an entire week to finish it, only because I kept finding hidden messages in between the lines. It's almost as if everything you wrote had a double meaning, like there was the plot on the surface, but there was another plot going on behind the words, one that wasn't intended for readers to pick up on." He stopped for a breath, "I'm sorry, I must be boring you, babbling on. It's just," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "your book is one of my all-time favorites."

Aria laughed, fueling the girls' interest further. "Well thank you very much, I'm glad to hear that." Aria added, "For the record, there was a background plot going on behind the words. I wrote it as a way to entertain the more, how do I say this, adept readers, just in case the surface plot was boring."

"Well, I must say, you did that very well."

"Thank you, again, Mr. Hill. But, excuse me for being rude, may I ask why you're calling?"

"Please, Ms. Montgomery, call me Tristan."

"Well, Tristan, I will- if you would call me Aria."

"Very well then, Aria. I was just calling to say, I believe your writing is exactly what we're looking for here at the Chronicle. I was wondering if you would be interested in a job here at the newspaper."

Aria's mouth dropped open as he continued on. "We'll cover all of your travel expenses, of course, and we'll provide a house out here for you. All you would have to do is pack up your stuff in New York, ship it out, and fly over here. We would take care of everything else."

"Um, yes! When would I start?" Aria stuttered out, excited at this new opportunity.

"Start? Start what?" Spencer whispered. Aria shushed her and resumed her conversation.

"I take it you're interested, then?" Tristan asked with another chuckle.

"Yes! I'm very interested!" Aria exclaimed.

"Well, we'd love to take you whenever you're free. I could email you the information for you to look over, and you can call me back when you've checked it out to let me know. Sound good?"

"That sounds perfect," Aria said, exchanging her email address for Tristan's number. "Thank you, I'll talk to you soon," she said, hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?"

"What'd they want?"

"What are you starting?"

The stream of questions hit Aria full blast as soon as she hung up with Tristan. Aria laughed at the eagerness in her friends' eyes. "That was Tristan. He was with the San Francisco Chronicle. He told me that one of his colleagues had gotten a hold of a file of my writing samples and had passed it on to him. And," Aria said, pausing, "they offered me a job. He said he was so impressed with my writing and he thought that it was exactly what the newspaper was looking for. They're offering to pay for all of my expenses, they're providing a house for me to live in, AND the guy loves my book."

Spencer, Emily and Hanna sat quietly, listening intently as Aria explained everything.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing. Are you going to take it?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah, I think I am," Aria said with a grin.

"Ar, I'm so happy for you!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Congratulations! This sounds like a really great opportunity for you," Emily said, encouragingly.

Aria couldn't help but notice the hesitance behind her friends' voices. "What, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Well," Spencer began cautiously, "this is kind of a really big decision. Don't you want to talk about it with your parents first? Spend a little time thinking it over?"

"Spence, you know my parents are fine with whatever decision I make. It's not up to them anymore, it's up to me. And I can't pass up this opportunity." Aria saw the flash of uncertainty behind Spencer's eyes. "Okay, look, what is this really about? I know it's not about my parents, and I know you guys know that even if I take this job, I'll still be there for you whenever you need me."

"Okay, fine. It isn't about your parents or us, it's just…" Spencer trailed off.

"It's just what?" Aria demanded. "I thought you guys were happy for me!"

"It's just," Spencer began again, "have you figured out what you're going to do with Ezra? I mean, even though you've only met up once, I know you are going to eventually get back together. Don't you think he deserves a say in this decision? Or at least that he should know _before_ you accept it?"

Aria opened her mouth to begin her protest, but closed it. Spencer was right, Ezra had the right to know. "Fine, you're right. But what am I supposed to do, call him up and just say, 'Hey Ezra! Yeah, I'm fine. I just wanted to let you know that I was offered a job in San Francisco, and I'm taking it. Have a nice life!' Yeah, I don't think that's going to go over too well."

"Maybe not, but Aria, he has a right to know," Emily piped up.

Aria looked at her friends. "Okay!" she cried, throwing her hands up in the air. "Okay, I'll get Ezra's number from Mandy and I'll call him as soon as we get back to New York and ask if we can go out to dinner. I'll tell him then."

"Good," Hanna said, closing the conversation. "Now, does anyone want a piece of my chocolate cake before I finish it? Because it's seriously amazing."

Aria watched as her friends laughed and shared their desserts. She wished she could join them and be carefree, but she couldn't, not when she realized that she needed to talk to Ezra and explain to him that she was going to take a job in San Francisco, and there was nothing he could do to change her mind. '_Yeah right, easier said than done', _Aria thought to herself. No, she wasn't going to think about this now, she was determined to have a good time and enjoy her last moments away from the city. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she joined her friends in their dessert picnic. There was nothing that cleared a jumbled mind like chocolate cake.

* * *

><p>Ezra lifted his head from the stack of papers he was grading when he head a vibrating noise coming from his briefcase. It was noon, meaning he had a two hour break for his lunch, one for the actual lunch period and another because the next period for him was prep. Today, instead of going out for lunch, he decided to drop by a vending machine, pick up a VitaminWater and a bag of chips, and spend his two hours in his classroom, grading the essays his students had rewritten.<p>

He didn't recognize the number, and normally he didn't answer calls from numbers he didn't recognize, but for some reason, he had a feeling that he should answer this particular call. "Hello?" he asked, flipping open his phone.

"Hi, Ezra?" the woman on the other end asked.

"Yes, who's this?" he asked, confused as to what woman would be calling him.

"Hi, this is Aria. I'm sorry to be calling you during work, Mandy gave me your number. I kind of really need to talk to you."

"Oh, it's no problem at all," Ezra replied, leaning back in his chair. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if we could meet tonight? I'm on my way back from Rosewood right now, and I need to talk to you about something."

He took note of the apprehension and nervousness of her voice. "Of course. I have a faculty meeting to go to after school, and I won't be home until maybe 6. How about we meet at 7:30? At The Bistro?"

"Um, that sounds good. 7:30 then." He heard Aria let out a deep breath. "So, I have to go, but I'll see you tonight."

"Wait, Aria," he said, hoping she hadn't hung up yet.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Ezra asked uncertainly.

"No, everything's fine, I just need to, uh, tell you something," she said.

"Oh, okay, sure. I'll see you tonight, then," Ezra said. But she was already gone.

* * *

><p>Aria showed up at 7:40 to find Ezra already sitting on one end of a booth with menus on the table, talking to someone on his phone.<p>

"Yeah, no, I understand, but you need to make sure that the rush order for at book goes in by tomorrow, I need it by Friday," she heard him say to the person on the other end. She sat down in the booth on the opposite end of his and placed her clutch down beside her.

"Listen, I have to go, but make sure, okay? Because if I don't get that book by Friday, I'm going have to change my lesson plans. Yeah, you too. Bye," he said, hanging up the phone and turning to Aria. "I'm so sorry, the secretary at my school forgot to send in my order for the teacher's guide to the AP English Language exam, and I had it planned for my class to take a multiple choice practice exam from it on Friday," he explained.

Aria smiled sympathetically, "Don't worry about it, it's no problem at all," she replied.

An awkward air developed between them. "So," Ezra said, determined to break the tension, "you said you needed to talk to me about something?"

"Do you mind if we order first? I'm kind of starving," Aria said, desperate to buy herself a little more time. She wasn't quite ready to break the news to him just yet.

"Oh, of course, no problem!" Ezra said embarrassed, a blush slowly creeping up on his cheeks. He didn't know what it was about Aria Montgomery, but something in her always made him forget everything that was going on in his mind at any given moment.

A few minutes later, their waiter came and dropped by a basket of bread, and took their orders, a rib-eye steak for Ezra, the baked salmon for Aria, and a bottle of white wine to share. Aria nibbled on the bread, pretending to be famished, when in actuality, she was so nervous that her stomach was tossing and turning.

"I, um, I read your book," Ezra said, trying to make small talk and break the silence.

Aria's head bobbed up at the mention of her book. "You did? What did you think of it?" She asked, her curiosity piqued.

"It was really good, I'm really impressed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the way you painted a picture of an irrational man and woman who's entire life centered around the chase to find 'the who got away' was amazing. I loved the fact that you had these characters, who was clearly not in their right mind, wasting away years to find the one person they loved, only to discover that the other was chasing after them, also." He stopped for a moment. "Except, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot," she replied, placing the bread down on her plate.

"I know you never really liked to write sappy happy endings, but, why did you never have them meet? I mean, they spend years and years searching for each other, but in the end, they give up so easily. They each settle for the temporary happiness that is around them, not thinking to look right under their noses for the eternal happiness that was in front of them the entire time."

Aria laughed. "What?" Ezra asked, furrowing his brow, wondering why she was laughing.

"Ezra Fitz, you are the only person who focuses more on what's behind the words, rather than what's on the surface."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the novel was supposed to be a self-discovery of the two characters. I felt like the story was more about how, in the process of searching for one another, they end up discovering themselves and what makes them tick. They discover where their passions lie," Aria explained as Ezra listened intently. "I didn't ever have them meet because it wasn't about them being together, it was about how, in the end, they were comfortable with themselves and were able to love again, to give their heart away to another person to mend. It wasn't about them settling."

Ezra nodded, "I picked up from the very beginning that it was about self-discovery, but I was captured more by the story behind the story, the story about the two soul mates who never come to be. _That_ was what I loved most about the book, that they know in their hearts that one day they'll find one another, but it would take some time."

"I'll keep that in mind for my next book," Aria said with a smile.

"Speaking of your next book," Ezra went on, glad that the tension was, if not gone, less noticeable, "how's it going? Can I have a hint to what it's about?"

"Well," Aria said, pulling off a piece of bread and spreading butter on it before popping it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "It's kind of like the first novel. The surface plot deals with this woman who spends her life in a horrible marriage, staying with the man because she believes he can change, and she think that there'll be no one else who cares for her as much as he does, but she meets another man at work who changes her way of thinking. But, the subplot, if you will, involves the woman and her inner turmoil, not believing that her previous way of thinking was completely wrong and destructive. She's challenged to see things a different way, to go against her morals."

She watched as Ezra sat there, speechless, but with an amused look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just, the way you speak about your writing. You talk about your characters as if they're real, as if they're the type of person you'd meet on the street. You have a real passion for writing, and it's truly apparent when you talk about it."

"Yeah, well, I guess I have you to thank for that. All those nights we spent in your apartment, arguing. I would always argue that a character was round and fully developed, but you always found something about them that made them seem completely one-sided and dull after you made your point. I guess I took all those things into account when I developed those characters, I didn't want you to get bored when you read about them."

"So you knew I was going to read your book, did you?" Ezra teased.

"No, but I hoped so," Aria admitted.

"Well, wish granted," Ezra said, smiling warmly at her. Things were almost back to normal.

* * *

><p>After their dinner came and they had eaten every last bite, making conversation all the while, they ordered coffee and a slice of red velvet cake to share.<p>

"I really hate to break our conversation, but it's been bothering me all night. I have to know, why did you want to meet up?" Ezra backtracked when he saw Aria's expression, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you called. It's just, when you called me this afternoon, you didn't sound right. I could tell something was wrong."

Aria put down her fork. She had to tell him now, there was no more putting it off. "Um, when I was in Rosewood, I got a call from Tristan Hill from the San Francisco Chronicle. He got a hold of some of my writing samples and told me that he was impressed."

Ezra nodded, spearing a piece of cake onto his fork and putting it in his mouth. "Um, well, he offered me a job in San Francisco, and I figured that I should tell you before I make a decision. They offered to pay my travel expenses, they offered me a house to live in, and they said I could start anytime."

Ezra's face lit up with a grin, "Aria, congratulations! That's an amazing opportunity for you! I'm so proud."

Aria searched his face, "So, you're not mad?"

"Aria, of course not! Why would I be mad at you for taking such a great opportunity? Of course you should go."

"But what about us? We're just now starting to get to normal, what happens now?"

Ezra reached for her hand, "What happens now is, you're going to take the job in San Francisco, have an amazing time, and kick some ass. I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back."

"Are you sure?" Aria asked uncertainly.

"I'm sure. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Ezra said with a smile.

Aria didn't know how to reply. Luckily for her, she didn't have to. "You ready to go?" Ezra asked. She nodded, and he signaled for the check.

After the typical fight over the check, of course Ezra won, Aria and Ezra walked out of the restaurant. "So, which way are you heading?" he asked.

"The same direction you are," Aria answered, hailing a cab.

"What do you mean?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

Aria looked at him incredulously, "We live in the same apartment building. I saw you getting into the elevator Saturday morning." She raised an eyebrow, "That _was _you, right? I mean, it looked exactly like you, and they were wearing a Hollis sweatshirt..."

Ezra laughed nervously, "Yeah, that was me." He rubbed the back of his neck, "What apartment, um, what apartment are you in?"

"3-B. Ironic, isn't it?"

"I'm in 4-B." Ezra opened the door for her. "You know what that means, right?" Aria shook her head no as she got inside. Following her in and closing the door, he turned to her, "We've been neighbors for the last six years."

* * *

><p>After Ezra dropped Aria off at her apartment, she headed straight for her room to change into her pajamas and go to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, she found an email from Tristan with the information he had promised her. She scrolled through, scanning all the specifics, and once she got to the end, she picked up her cell phone and took a deep breath, dialing Tristan's number.<p>

"Hi, Tristan? This is Aria Montgomery. I just wanted to say that I would love to take your offer. I can be down there as soon as next week, if that's okay." She listened as Tristan agreed, telling her that he would take care of booking her flight and that he would email her the information as soon as he got it.

"Thank you so much. I can't wait to meet you and start writing for the Chronicle," Aria said before saying her goodbye and hanging up. That was it, there was no going back now.


	6. The Bittersweet Goodbye

**A/N: I've been working pretty hard on this chapter for over a week now, tweaking it, toying with sentence structure and dialogue, basically just trying to perfect it. ****I hope you like it, because I have to admit, it was pretty hard for me to write. Not to mention, like I said in the last chapter, this is probably one of my favorites, also.**

**I was very tempted to hold off on posting this, but I couldn't resist. So, here it is. I'm saving the rest of the Author's Note for the end, just in case I accidentally let something slip. Haha. :)**

****Enjoy! -J****

****Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish. Haha.****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six- "The Bittersweet Goodbye"<strong>

Aria took one last look around her room. It was so surreal to her, seeing her room completely bare, no trace of her anywhere, as if she had never been there at all. All of her clothing and furniture had been packed up and shipped to San Francisco last week, and would be waiting for her to sort through and arrange at her new home. She couldn't believe it, just last month she had been having fun with her best friends in New York and possibly rekindling an old relationship with the man she had loved for more than eight years, and now it was all over. In less than twelve hours, she would be starting life in a new state, in a new town, in a new house, with no one she knew.

In a way, Aria would be getting a blank slate, a fresh, new start- something she had wanted ever since Alison had been murdered all those years ago- and now she finally had it. And yet, something she couldn't forget, she had so much to lose. For the new beginning she accepted, she was forced to let go of the friends she had known since she Alison brought them together years ago, the same friends she had seen almost each and every day for almost more than half her life, and so much more. She was forced to give up the love of her life, and all the possibilities that came with it.

Aria knew that by accepting this job, she was giving up so much- and yet, she also knew that she had so much more to gain. Yes, she had never truly been the rational one, she preferred doing things on a whim and living in the moment, but she knew that there were so many risks, and people, involved that she had to think things through before she made her decision.

When she had gotten the call from the San Francisco Chronicle offering her the job, the first words that came to her mind were, "I'll take it. When do I start?" She was so excited to be offered a job that would help her gain so much experience and would challenge her to live away from the life she had become accustomed to, a job that would teach her so much more than she could ever have dreamed to learn. However, as time passed on, she realized that there were other people besides herself that she had to consider.

Firstly, there was her family. Still living in Rosewood, although her parents had reunited years back, things were still shaky, as her mother was still trying to find a way to trust her husband again. Yes, things were much better now, Byron still teaching at Hollis, Ella teaching at Rosewood, and Mike was set to graduate from Hollis in a few short weeks with a B.S. in Physical Sciences, however, there were times in the Montgomery house where a buffer was needed, and that's what Aria, only a few hours away, could offer. But if she were to take the job in San Francisco, she would be all the way across the country from her family, meaning she couldn't exactly be there whenever they needed her.

Secondly, there were her friends. Spencer, Emily and Hanna were her life, they were the ones who were always there for her through all the good times and bad. They shared secrets, helped keep each other strong, stayed together for more than 10 years. In the years that they had spent together, no other group of friends suffered through as many heartbreaks, tragedies, secrets, victories, defeats, lessons learned, ups and downs and drama as the four of them had. These girls were her rock, her safe place to land when everything felt like it was going to fall to pieces. What would she do without them? There was no possible way she, nor they, could survive without each other.

Lastly, and, though she wouldn't admit it, most importantly, there was Ezra, the man she loved since she had met him at a bar at just 16 years old. Her and Ezra had gone through so much to be together, only to have their selfish mistakes tear them apart when they needed each other most. Now, after finding one other after spending so much time apart, was she willing to give all of that up? She had missed him so much when they separated, but back then, she didn't know where he was, where he disappeared to. She didn't have a choice but to let him go. And now? Now she had a choice. Was she willing to let him go so quickly and so easily?

"Aria, the cab's here!" Hanna called, waking Aria up from her deep train of thought. Aria shook her head, determined to shake off the doubts clouding her mind. No, this was the right thing to do. Her family could fend for themselves, they seemed to do well when she visited them during Hanna's boutique opening, her friends were strong and would always be there no matter where she was, and Ezra? Well, she didn't know if Ezra was still going to be there when she came back like he said he would, but she was willing to, as cruel as it sounded, give him up. She had to try to reach for her own dreams, had to do what she thought was best for her. This decision was all about her, no one else, just _her_. This was her one time to be selfish.

Aria looked on her desk, the one Spencer had insisted she leave behind so Aria could buy a new one out in California as a housewarming gift to herself, and saw the picture she had left behind, the photo of her and Ezra on their date in Philly. Seeing herself and him frozen in time, so happy, had the reverse effect on her. A single tear began to fall from her eye as she pictured Ezra's reaction when he found out she was gone, that she had left without saying goodbye. Although he knew she was seriously considering taking the job, he didn't know when she had called them up after their date last week and accepted it. He didn't know that she was leaving, let alone that she was leaving so soon.

She knew that the only way she would be able to do this was if she left without telling him goodbye. If she were to tell him as soon as she made her decision, he knew that he would be supportive of her and her decision, as evidenced by the fact that his exact words were, "Why would I be mad at you for taking such a great opportunity? Of course you should go," and that would make it all the more harder for her to leave. Seeing him one last time would change her mind, make her second guess her decision. There was no doubt in her mind that if she saw him within the next five minutes before she left her apartment, she would call everything off. So Aria did what she had to do, leave Ezra in the dark and make a clean break. Although she didn't know if it could be classified as a "clean break", it was anything but "clean".

She brushed away the falling tear from her eye as she made her way back to the desk. Picking up the frame, she stroked Ezra's face. "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

"Aria, hurry up or the cab's going to leave!" Hanna shouted again from the door.

Aria took a deep breath in a failed attempt to keep the tears from falling. She carefully placed the picture frame back on her old desk, then picked up her carry on and suitcase. "Yeah, I'm coming!", she called out to Hanna, unable to keep her voice from cracking. As she walked out the door of her room, she took one last glance towards the picture. "Goodbye," she whispered so quietly that it blended in right with the breeze, nothing more than a slight whoosh of air.

* * *

><p>Ezra had a bad feeling about today. From the time he woke up, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, as if he knew something bad was going to happen, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He was never one to believe in superstitions, but he was one who listened to his heart and instincts, and they were both telling him that after this day, nothing was going to be the same. He placed a few calls to his family, and, after constant reassurances, his mind was satisfied with the knowledge that they were safe and nothing was wrong. But that did nothing to calm his racing heart.<p>

He didn't plan on leaving his apartment today, he had a lot of work to catch up on. And when he said "work", he really meant "watch old movies he hadn't seen in forever". However, if his blood kept pulsating like this, he would have to leave, possibly to the hospital because of a heart attack. He was lying down on his worn in leather couch in front of the movie, some classic film on AMC playing on the TV, but he wasn't paying attention. Instead, he was raking his mind trying to figure out why this was happening to him. What was so bad that his heart was pounding in terror? Suddenly it clicked in his head: _Aria_.

Ezra didn't bother changing out of his plaid pajama pants, he just threw on an old Hollis t-shirt he had laying around. Grabbing his keys, he had learned from experience that whenever he left his apartment in a frenzy, he had a tendency to lock himself out, he shut the door and ran down the stairs to Aria's apartment.

Racing down the stairs, dangerously taking the steps three at a time, he was standing in front of Aria's apartment in less than two minutes. He frantically began pounding on the door, not caring that it was only 9 AM and her roommates would probably be asleep. All three girls opened the door together, taking in his disheveled appearance, a stark contrast to their already clothed and made-up selves. "Is Aria okay?" he asked, breathless.

Emily was the one who answered, "Yes, she's fine. Why do you ask?"

Ezra shook his head, "I'm sorry. I just had a really bad feeling when I woke up this morning. I already called my family, and their fine, so I figured it had to be someone else. My heart was pounding, my pulse was racing, I had this weird fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach, and the first person I thought of was Aria, so I needed to make sure she was okay," he explained, sentences and words jumbling together into one giant mess.

Somehow, they understood him. And yet, he could tell from the way they looked at each other, they were hiding something. "Where is Aria?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to know the answer himself. They didn't respond, just moved out of the way to let him pass and lead the way to Aria's room. Ezra followed them straight through their open kitchen, past their living room, past their stairway to the other rooms in the loft and up to Aria's door. They strayed behind, watching as he knocked once, Hanna stopped him from knocking again when there was no answer.

"You don't need to knock," she said simply. Ezra looked at her incredulously, but opened Aria's door anyway.

He looked around the room she had occupied for years without his knowledge. Everything was gone, not a single trace, besides the desk she left behind, of her was anywhere to be found. If he hadn't known any better, he would've thought that the room was never occupied, was perpetually empty. Slowly, his eyes were drawn to the one thing she left behind on the desk. He walked over and picked up the picture, his favorite picture. The only thing that reminded him that Aria was here.

"Where is she?" No one answered. Ezra looked Spencer in the eye, knowing she would be the only one who would give him a straight answer. "Spencer, where is Aria?"

Spencer looked away. All three of the girls did. Why was no one telling him what happened? He took a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of her favorite shampoo and perfume mixed together, and asked one last time, enunciating each word, "_Where is Aria?_"

Hanna was the first to make eye contact and speak up. "She just left."

His heart stopped beating for a few seconds. "What do you mean 'She just left'? She just left for where? For coffee? For the bookstore? For a short trip back to Rosewood?" he questioned. "Will someone just, please, tell me what happened?" he pleaded with Aria's best friends, the girls who, he knew, would try to keep her secret to the end. He had a good idea where she was. He just needed one of them to say it, either one of them, it didn't matter. Ezra needed to hear it out loud, or he wouldn't believe, wouldn't trust his mind, yelling at him that she had left for San Francisco without telling him.

Spencer finally had the courage to speak to him herself. What she said nearly killed him. "She just left for San Francisco. She took the job."

* * *

><p>Aria watched the life she had become accustomed to pass before her eyes as the taxi swerved in between other cars on the road, the driver determined to cut through all the traffic and get onto the highway as soon as possible. She watched as the taxi passed by the bagel shop she always got breakfast at, the coffee shop she visited every day without fail, the bench in the park she loved to sit under and people watch, the local boutique where she often shopped for her unique clothing, the bar her and her friends frequented after particularly stressful days; it all flew past her.<p>

She sighed and sunk back into her seat. What if she was making the wrong decision, leaving it all behind so quickly? It wasn't as if she hadn't thought through her decision, she had the pro/con list Spencer suggested she make tucked into her bag, it was more of, what was going to happen now? She would move to San Francisco, move into a new house by herself, and begin to work at the San Francisco Chronicle- those were the tangible events that she was sure would come. But what about everything else? Would she make new friends? Find a new guy to fall in love with? Forget about all of her friends in New York? Would she hate her job? Would she be able to live alone?

She knew that the questions running through her mind were what would be the end of her. If these questions kept up, she would have a change of heart, beg the taxi driver to turn around, and go back home. But there was also one question that cancelled out all of her worries. _What if_? Those two little words were bigger than any doubt she had in her mind. Aria knew that if she were to turn around and go back home, as she was desperately thinking about at that very moment, those very two words would nag her. _What if I had gone to San Francisco? What if I worked at the Chronicle? What if? What if?_ Those two words were very powerful, and were also what kept her from tapping the driver on the shoulder and telling him that he needed to head back to New York City.

It was also these very questions racing through her mind were the reason why she refused to let her friends accompany her to the airport. When they left the apartment building and had placed all of her bags into the trunk of the yellow taxi cab, Aria turned and gave each one a long hug, thanking them for being such great friends to her over the course of the last few years, and that, as much as she didn't want to, she needed to do this on her own. If they had come with her, she knew that she wouldn't have made it onto the plane, let alone into the taxi, and she would've called The Chronicle right away and told them that she had changed her mind, that she was perfectly content with staying in New York with her loved ones.

There were so many things in her mind that convinced her to return back to New York City, but she knew that needed to do this, she needed a change. She was young, only 24 years old, and she needed to experience life away from her friends, away from her comfort zone. She needed to be shocked and exposed to the world around her, metaphorically, of course. And she wasn't exactly leaving everyone behind in the dust forever, it was just for a short time, even though she didn't know exactly how long she would be away for. It had always been her dream to go to California, to feel the change of pace that they offered. Aria wanted to be alone, even for just a few months, to discover herself and what it was she wanted from life.

It wasn't long before the taxi pulled up to the curb at John F. Kennedy International Airport and the cab driver was opening her door, helping her out. Aria slung her carry-on bag over her shoulder and pulled out her wallet, taking out a few bills to cover the fare and the driver's tip, while he had the task of unloading her suitcases. She flashed the driver a smile and thanked him after handing him the money, lifting the handle on her suitcases and walking into the airport.

Aria had always loved airports, they always made her feel excited. When she was younger, she loved coming to airports just to watch the planes take-off. She watched with wide eyes as the plane made its way down the runway, accelerating to quick speeds, and found herself holding her breath until the plane was safely in the air, almost invisible to the human eye.

As she got older, she favored sitting and watching the people passing by, imagining why they were here. Maybe the man tapping his foot impatiently next to her was waiting for his wife to come back home from somewhere overseas to tell him that the doctors had discovered a cure for their son's previously believed to be terminal illness. Maybe the little boy clutching his mom's leg, peeking out from behind was waiting for his father to return from his tour of duty in Iraq, just in time for the boy's birthday. The teenage girl standing near the baggage claim was waiting for her brother to return from spending his first year in college, excited to tell him everything about her horribly complicated life. The scenarios she came up with while in the airports helped to feed her imagination and develop her love for storytelling.

Aria made her way to the check-in desk for her airline and gave the lady at the desk her Driver's License, her printed out confirmation/itinerary, and checked in her bags. "Ms. Montgomery, you're only booked on a one-way flight to San Francisco, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"You're from here, though. Moving?" The lady asked, trying to make small talk as she checked in Aria's bags.

"I am, I just got a job at the San Francisco Chronicle," Aria said, not able to hide the pride in her voice.

"Congratulations, I wish you the best of luck," she replied, handing Aria her paperwork. "Here are your boarding passes, your flight leaves in one hour. Make sure you're at the gate at least 15 minutes before departure to ensure you do not miss your flight."

Aria took the paperwork from the counter and made sure she had everything. "Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome. Have a nice flight."

Aria slipped her paperwork into her carry-on bag and began walking towards the escalator. _"This is it," _Aria whispered to herself.

* * *

><p>In less than five minutes from the time Spencer told him that Aria had left for San Francisco, Ezra was dressed and in a taxi, speeding to John F. Kennedy International Airport. According to the girls, Aria's flight left in an hour and a half, meaning that if he left now, and got the taxi driver to go all <em>Fast and Furious<em> on the road, he could make it to the airport in 30 minutes and would, hopefully, make it in time to catch Aria. When he got into the cab, he offered the driver double the fare if he could get him to JFK in less than 30 minutes, and if he couldn't, he would deduct a dollar from the original fare for every minute he was late. The driver agreed, and, 15 minutes later, Ezra was more than 3/4 of the way there.

Ezra didn't know what he was going to do. Truthfully, this was the most spontaneous thing he had ever done in his life. Normally he would've thought things through, weighed each option thoroughly, before making such an important decision as stopping the girl he loved from leaving him. He was never the one to be impulsive, rash, do things on a whim, but when it came to Aria Montgomery, he was willing to do just about anything. From his seat he could slowly begin to make out the outline of JFK. He sat up straighter, unable to keep himself from fidgeting.

The taxi driver came to a screeching halt in front of the airport, garnering the attention of all the other people standing around outside, saying goodbye to their loved ones. Ezra pulled out a hundred dollar bill and handed it to the driver, but the driver refused to take it. "A deal's a deal, you made it here in less than 30 minutes, so I owe you double the fare," Ezra insisted. He was in a hurry, he didn't have time to argue with him.

The driver refused, furiously shaking his head. "Keep the money. After you get your girl, take her out somewhere nice."

Ezra laughed, "Thank you, sir. I'll try my best." Ezra ran out of the door and into the airport lobby. He frantically looked around and spotted the check-in desk for the airline Emily mentioned Aria would be on.

"Excuse me, can you tell me if Aria Montgomery has already checked in?" He breathlessly asked the lady at the counter.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't-"

"Please, miss. I am in love with Aria Montgomery and I can't let her go again. We made some mistakes, well, me more than her, and I just can't let her go without a fight."

That seemed to melt the woman's heart, considering after his declaration, she began to type furiously on her computer. "Yes, she's already checked in. In fact, she checked in only two minutes ago, so she should still be here in the lobby."

"Thank you so much!" Ezra called behind him, taking off again to find Aria.

"You're welcome! And good luck!" The lady at the counter called after him. He was going to need it.

Ezra walked quickly through the lobby, pushing through the various people milling around, saying their goodbyes. It wasn't long before he spotted her- making her way up the escalator to security. He rushed to the escalator and called out her name. "Aria!"

She reached the top of the escalator and turned around, looking to see who had called her name. Ezra called her name again and waved his hand in the air, catching her attention. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she saw him standing behind the roped line of people trying to make their way up the escalator to security and ducked under the robe barrier directing her the correct way to go, and made her way back down the escalator.

He ran to meet her at the bottom. When she finally appeared in front of him, her eyes curiously searched his face. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss, explaining all that needed to be said without saying a single thing.

* * *

><p>Aria had just reached the top of the escalator when she faintly heard her name being called. She turned around, expecting it to be a mistake, just someone she <em>thought<em> was calling her name, but when she scanned the crowd below her, she saw the last person she ever thought she would. There, at the bottom of the escalator, was Ezra Fitz, waving his arms like a maniac and calling out her name.

Aria watched him, confused. How did he know she was leaving right now? What was he doing here? She had to go and talk to him, she couldn't just leave him down there, desperately calling her name. She ducked under the rope barrier and made her way down the escalator, heart skipping a beat when she saw him running to meet her at the bottom. When she finally stopped in front of him, her eyes searched his face. She was the first to speak, "What are you doing here?"

Her heart stopped as his arms circled her waist and lifted her up, the feeling completely natural- and exactly what she wanted to feel. He leaned in, and before she could say anything else, he kissed her. It was as if time stopped, as if they were the only ones in the airport. Aria tangled her hands in his hair, opening her mouth in response to him, allowing for their tongues to clash together. She softly moaned as he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her closer, practically crushing her against him. Aria placed her hands on his cheek, determined to prove to herself that this was real, that he was real. No words were needed.

After what seemed like an eternity, he set her down lightly and they pulled away, smiling into their soft kisses. Aria winded her arms around his neck, playing with the curls on the back of his head as he leaned his forehead against hers, both of them trying to catch their breath, grinning like fools.

"Aria, look, I still love you. I never stopped loving you. I let you go once, and I'm not about to do it again. So, I'm going to give you two choices: either stay here with me, or let me go with you. Either option you choose is fine with me, as long as we're together," Ezra whispered.

Aria looked at him with her green eyes. Here he was, the love of her life, declaring his love and asking her to stay. With him. Internally, she froze. She knew what she needed to do, but the question was, was she strong enough to go through with it? She shook her head and pulled back, bringing her arms back to her side. She looked him straight in the eye, begging him to forgive her. "Ezra..."

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><p><strong>AN: Okay, so now that you've finished reading, like I was saying before, this chapter was difficult to write, n****ot because it was literally difficult, the words actually flowed out quite easily, but because the Ezria fan in me tried to stop me from writing the words. Haha.**

**Anyway, I hate to leave you on a cliffhanger, but I just wanted to say that I might not be able to update for a couple of days; I need some time to think about where I want this to go afterwards. I'll admit, I have nothing really planned out after this yet, except for what happens immediately after, so I'm going to take a couple days away to think and focus. **

**I hate asking for reviews, but, please, keep reviewing. That's basically what's keeping me from ending this right at this very moment. Haha. I love and truly appreciate and thank every single person that's reviewed, favorited, has an alert for, or has even just _read_ this story. That's why I'm taking time away, because I want to make sure that I'm giving you my absolute best work, and not just dragging it out with some monotonous crap and wasting your time.**

**So, for now, it'll be a while before the next update. I don't know when, maybe a week or so, maybe less, maybe more. I'm not positive yet, but make sure to keep an eye out for it. I'll be back soon, I promise. :)  
><strong>

**- J **


	7. A New Beginning

**A/N: So...I'm sort of back, with a new chapter! I randomly got a sudden burst of inspiration last night, and I spent a good couple of hours furiously typing up, basically non-stop, this chapter and half of the next one. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. I may post it this weekend, only because I won't, for sure, be able to work on or post for this story for another week after this weekend. A whole week away from the computer? How will I survive? Haha.**

**No, but seriously, it's amazing how, even though I haven't updated in a few days, I've still been getting reviews and new readers. You guys honestly don't understand how much it means to me to read that you actually like the story. Before I start to get all gushy, I just wanted to thank each and every one of you for your support. Please, keep reviewing, it means the world to me. **

**Enjoy this next chapter. It kind of explains everything that has happened, and it sets the ball rolling for the next few chapters. At least, that's my plan. And there's some fluff. Because everyone deserves a little bit of Ezria fluff every once in a while. :)  
>Forgive me if it's horrible, I'm sorry. - J<strong>

**Disclaimer- I still don't own anything. Which still sucks. Haha.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven- "A New Beginning"<strong>

Aria traced her finger over the message she had inscribed in one of the many notebooks she often carried in her purse and used for scribbling down her random ideas. "You must give up the life you planned, in order to have the life that's waiting for you." Her thoughts carried her back to the day Ezra left and remembered when he had uttered those very same words to her class on his last day, those very words permanently engraving themselves into her brain. When Aria first heard those words spill from his mouth, she was shocked at how much they had affected her, how much they had stuck with her.

From that day on, any journal that she had had to be specially inscribed with that quote, mainly because she loved the quote and needed to be reminded every once in a while that letting go was an essential part of life. However, she had her ulterior motives. Having this particular quote on her journal allowed her to have a sort of reminder of Ezra wherever she went. Yes, she would admit, it did hurt every so often, seeing the last words he ever said to her, but it always served as an inspiration to her. Whenever she was blocked, she would simply glance at the words, feel that familiar tinge of pain, and would draw from it. One could say it was her ethos.

The turbulence of the plane jostled Aria back to real time. She looked out the window beside her and stared out at the fluffy white clouds. How was it that, after leaving the love of her life behind to pursue her dreams in California, the world still kept turning? Although Aria knew that the world wouldn't stop just because she was hurting, she wasn't vain enough to believe that, she was more surprised to see that the world didn't respond to her emotions. Normally, the world had a strange way of correlating her moods to the weather. Or possible it was the other way around. Whatever the reason may be, today, instead of being dark and rainy, the way she was feeling internally, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was a clear blue, a stark contrast to how she was feeling. She let her head fall against her pillow, staring down at the world below her, remembering what had happened.

_"Aria, look, I let you go once, and I'm not about to do it again. So I'm going to give you two choices: either stay here with me, or let me go with you. Either option you choose is fine with me, as long as we're together," _Aria clearly remembered Ezra whispering to her just hours earlier.

"_Ezra, I'm sorry, but I just can't do that." _Her heart dropped when she saw Ezra's face fall, clearly heartbroken. She reached up and moved his curls out of the way so she could see his eyes, the last time she would see them in a long time. _"You know I can't turn this job down. And I know that, deep down in your heart, you know that I need to do this on my own."_

"_When are you going to be back?" _Ezra asked, a fleeting glimpse of hope touching his eyes.

Aria had just shaken her head, unsure of what to answer. _"I don't know Ezra, I really don't know,"_ she said, quickly adding as she saw Ezra's eyes admitting defeat, "_But I'll be back before you know it. I promise."_

Ezra nodded, knowing that there was nothing he could say that would stop her. _"Is it cheesy if I say that I'll be here waiting for when you get back?"_, he asked, the corners of his lips pulling up in a little smile.

Aria laughed, _"No, it's not cheesy at all." _They both turned when they heard an announcement over the intercom calling for all the passengers of her flight to begin making their way to the gate. _"That's me,"_ she whispered, turning back to face him. _"I should get going,"_ she said.

Ezra pulled her close again and lifted her head towards him, leaning in for one last kiss. It was slow, burning of passion, as if they were both pouring their emotions into the kiss. Their last kiss. _"I'll see you soon," _Aria said after they broke apart.

_"Have a safe flight." _She walked back towards the escalator and gave Ezra one final wave goodbye before disappearing into the security checkpoint.

Aria came back to the present and lifted her head off of the pillow. She fumbled with the contents of her bag, looking for a pen, before pulling her table closer to her and turning down the TV. She opened one of her new journals, a going away present from the engraving store she had been getting these from for years, and began tapping her pen on the table, trying to figure out what to write.

It was one of the perks of flying first class, courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle, being able to do as she wished without having to think about those around her. Everyone else were in their own little words, pounding out furiously on their laptop keyboards or sleeping with their earphones on, so she was free to do what she wanted. Which, at this moment, was to write. What she wanted to write, however, was another story.

Aria finally decided to just put pen to paper and scribble whatever came to her mind first. Thirty minutes, two pages and a countless number of scratched out words and lines later, she was satisfied with what she had written. She reread what she had and ripped out the two pages. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her planner, which, luckily, still contained some blank envelopes from months before. She folded the letter carefully and slipped it into the envelope.

Aria smiled to herself as she put the letter into a small compartment in her laptop bag where she knew it wouldn't get wrinkled, shut her journal, and closed her eyes, settling into her seat. There was another three hours left in her flight, and now that she felt a little better, she was going to put those three hours to good use.

* * *

><p>It had been four days since Aria had left, and Ezra was trying his best to move past everything that had happened between him and Aria at the airport. Well, not 'move past', exactly, but more like 'move on'. Maybe even those words were too strong. Whatever he was trying to do, it wasn't working, because she was still all he could think about.<p>

He knew that he was wrong to give her the ultimatum at the airport. What was he thinking, making her choose between taking him with her or staying? That was probably what bothered him the most, that he had asked her to stay. Ezra was angry with himself, forcing her to consider leaving behind such an amazing opportunity, just to be with him. He didn't know why he had asked, anyway, it wasn't as if she was going to give up all of her dreams to stay with him. And he didn't want her to.

The truth was, this whole situation with Aria leaving for San Francisco was bittersweet to him. Yes, he was proud that one of his former students, and ex-girlfriend, had been talented enough to receive a job and everything she could ever have wanted at a top newspaper publication in California. However, that did nothing to water down the hurt he felt when he discovered that she had left, without so much as a goodbye, and let him, let _them_, go so easily. The sad part was, he understood why she did it, because, had he been in her situation, he would've done the same thing.

That was the whole reason why he had gone down to the airport in the first place. And, although it meant that he beat himself up every day because he had stupidly asked her to choose, he was glad they had some little bit of closure between them. And, yet, she still hadn't had any contact with him, nor anyone here in New York City. He tried to convince himself that it was just because she was getting acclimated to San Francisco, that he knew her better than to think that she would just cut off all communication with her friends and loved ones, but it was a tough sell.

"Ezra Fitz?" Ezra thoughts were interrupted by the new doorman who was standing by the door in the lobby of his apartment building.

"Yes?" He turned around and asked, slightly confused. In the week since the doorman started working in the apartment, Ezra had never heard the guy speak even one word.

"I have a package for you. It came earlier, but when I buzzed your apartment, no one answered. I figured you weren't home, and I'd just keep it here until you got back."

"Oh, yeah, I wasn't there, I was at work," Ezra responded, walking to the man, who picked up a small package and handed it to Ezra. Ezra studied the package, a smile lighting up his face when he read the San Francisco, California return address. "Thanks," Ezra said, beginning to walk up the stairs to his apartment.

"No problem," he heard the doorman call behind him, but he was already halfway up the second floor.

Ezra fought the urge to shake the package, seeing as how it said "Fragile" in large letters on the top. It didn't feel too heavy, so he couldn't figure out what it could be. Luckily for him, he wouldn't have to wait long, as he turned his key in the lock and pushed open the door.

Kicking it shut behind him, he sat his briefcase down on the armchair and walked to his kitchen counter, placing the box on top and immediately ripping off the packaging tape. Ezra chuckled to himself as he moved away the packing peanuts to reveal a white "I Heart SF" mug. Aria knew he would use it for his coffee in the morning, she always did have a way of picking out presents that she knew he would put to good use. He turned the mug upside down to spill out the remaining packing peanuts back into the box, and a small, folded envelope fell out.

Picking it up, he placed the mug beside the box and unfolded the envelope. His name, in Aria's flowing cursive, was written on it. Ezra sat down at a stool at his kitchen bar and unfolded the letter, immersing himself in Aria's handwritten letter, scratched out words and all.

_Ezra,_

_I'm sorry if my writing isn't easy to decipher or if it seems like I'm not making any sense, I just felt like I had to write something. Maybe it's the high altitude, I think I'm somewhere over Illinois right now, maybe it's my lack of sleep, maybe it's my jumbled thoughts, maybe it's all of that combined, but when I put my pen to paper, this is what came out. I made a deal with myself when I was writing this that I would send it to you no matter what I wrote- no revisions, no edits, not an abridged version, the original letter, erase marks and all._

_I honestly don't know what there is left to say. Well, okay, I know that there's still so much between us that needs to be said, and I'm sorry that I had to leave before we could really have that conversation. When you asked me, at the airport, when I would be back, I didn't know what to say. I never had great judgment when it came to time, but I think that I may when it comes to this._

_Three months. Give me three months to live on my own, fend for myself out here in San Francisco. I'm not saying that I want to cut off communication from you, far from it, I just want to be able to experience everything San Francisco has to offer without any strings. That sounded really harsh and awkward, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way. But you understand what I'm trying to say, I know you do. And I don't know why I chose three months, but it sounds right, doesn't it?_

_Anyway, I feel like I owe you a better explanation than the rushed one I gave you at the airport as to why I couldn't stay. You know I've always wanted to go to California, I couldn't turn down an amazing opportunity like this. You knew this, you said it yourself. I needed to take this job. But, I know you're asking yourself, 'Why didn't she let me come with her, then?' I'll tell you why._

_I need to be able to experience life on my own, without anyone I know around me. I need to be thrown out of my comfort zone. From the time I was born, there was always someone around me, I was never left alone. I was never taught to live by myself. That's the only reason why I didn't, why I couldn't, let you come with me._

_I love you, I do. You have no idea how hard it was for me to write those words, but I do, I won't deny it. I want to be with you, but I don't think we should start something right now, especially with me in San Francisco and you in New York City. So, for now, let's just talk. Get to know each other again. Facebook, email, handwritten letters, telephone calls, Skype, carrier pigeons, owls- let's do it all. But, let's not put a label on what we are right now, not until we can see each other, face to face, in person, and hash everything out._

_You know, a wise man I once knew quoted Joseph Campbell when he was saying goodbye to my junior AP English class years back. He said, "You must give up the life you planned, in order to have the life that's waiting for you." He said, "I thought I knew what that meant. I didn't. 'Till I met you." Well, Mr. Fitz, that same principle still applies. All these years, I thought I knew what those words meant, but I didn't. Not until we met again. I needed to give up the life I had planned, with you in New York, in order to have the life that is waiting for me San Francisco. Thank you for letting me chase that life._

_Three months. It's not that long in the grand scheme of things. I mean, we've lasted eight years apart, granted we spent six of those years as neighbors, how much more is three months? Okay, I'll admit, it's pretty difficult, but I'm asking you to try. For me. Just three months without labels or strings, and then when I come back to NYC, we can talk and figure out where we go from there._

_I should probably stop writing before I end up writing you an entire novel. Which, in essence, I already have. You know my novel? The one you read about the man and woman who search for years and years until the ends of the Earth to find each other, but never meet? That's you and me. Or, at least, it was. You're the only person that knows this, that will ever know this, but in my original manuscript, they meet at the end and live happily ever after. I was so convinced that you and I wouldn't ever meet again that I decided to forgo the happy ending. I figured: why should they get it when I never would?_

_That's changed now. Keep checking your email, maybe I'll be brave enough to send you the original ending one day. Let's see if we can beat them. Yeah, that was pretty cheesy. In my defense, you got to be cheesy when I left, so I get to be cheesy now. Haha._

_I'll see you in three months. But let's talk soon._

_Love,  
><em>_Aria_

By the time Ezra looked up again, he had read the letter five times in a row and it was now approaching six o'clock. He could hear his stomach rumbling, a clear indication that he didn't have time to actually cook anything and would need to order in again tonight. Ezra reached over and grabbed the phone, calling the Chinese restaurant he loved that was a block away, and ordered chow mein, orange chicken and beef with broccoli. After ensuring that his order would be delivered ASAP, he made his way to his desk and began composing his own reply letter.

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><p>"San Francisco Chronicle, Aria Montgomery speaking," Aria answered, holding the phone with her shoulder. She was finishing up her article on a breaking news story that had come in an hour ago- front page news for tomorrow's issue. She had only picked up the phone to stop the shrill ringing noise so she could finally concentrate and keep writing.<p>

"Hello, Miss Montgomery, I was just wondering if it would be possible to schedule an interview with you?" a man's voice questioned.

Aria leaned back in her desk chair and laughed, forgetting for the moment the article she was working on. "And for what publication would this be?" she teased.

"The New York Times," he answered quickly, not missing a beat.

"Ezra, unless you haven't updated your Facebook page lately, I know for a fact that you haven't started working for the New York Times and that you're still working for that school downtown," Aria replied.

"Okay, you caught me, I don't work for the New York Times," Ezra admitted. He paused for a moment, "It's for the New York Post. I'm an undercover agent trying to spy on the competition. Keep it on the DL, no one's supposed to know."

"Very funny," Aria said, gaining a laugh from him. "Besides the fact that you've suddenly become a spy for the New York Post, how have you been? How's New York? Did you like the present I sent you?"

"Whoa there, slow down! Is that how you do all of your interviews? Rapid fire? Nice to know that's one thing that hasn't changed."

"I'm sorry, I guess it's one of my habits when I talk to you."

"I still stand by my theory that you watched too much Gilmore Girls as a child, which is why you always talk too fast for your own good."

"Shut up and answer the questions."

"Well, to answer your questions, I'm doing really well. School's almost over for Christmas Break, so we haven't been doing very much lately. New York is good, Mandy says 'hi', by the way, and I love the present you sent me. It's sitting beside my 'I Heart NY' mug."

"Thank you for answering them all at once," Aria said with a laugh, "And I'm glad that you like the mug. You better be using it."

"Hey, you told me to shut up and answer the questions, so I did. And don't worry, I am."

"Good. So, what's up? Is there any particular reason why decided to grace me with a call?" Aria asked.

"Actually there is. I just wanted to let you know that you should be expecting a package soon. And I was wondering when you were going to send the ending to your book, I was looking forward to seeing what we're competing against," Ezra said, adding the last line in for good measure.

"Nice try. I said that if I was brave enough, I would send it to you one day. No promises on that."

"Touché. But, honestly, I was just calling to say I miss you and that I can't wait until you come back. Eighty-three days left."

"I know, I miss you, too. I can't wait to see you."

Ezra cleared his throat, "Anyway, I should let you go. I just wanted to check in, let you know that I got your present and that I was sending one back."

Aria laughed her melodic laugh one more time, "I'll be sure to keep an eye out for it. I'll talk to you soon."

"Soon." Ezra agreed.

The two said their goodbyes and Aria hung up the phone, turning back to the article she was trying to write. However, no matter how hard she tried to keep writing, she just couldn't concentrate. Aria rolled her chair over to the other end of her office where a calendar was hung. Picking up the black Sharpie that was lying on the table under it, she marked a giant 'X' on the current day, matching the other six 'X's she had begun marking since she arrived in San Francisco.

"Eighty-three days," she whispered to herself. "Just eighty-three more days." And somehow that simple assurance gave her the courage to get back to writing.


	8. Four

**A/N: I'm sorry I haven't been able to update sooner, but the last few weeks have made me super busy with college things, even more so this week and next. So, this is going to be my last update until at least next Sunday. **

**Thank you guys so much for being patient and sticking with me throughout this crazy ride. I didn't think that this story, which was expected to only be a one-shot, would grow to something this big. I have every intention of staying with it, letting it grow as huge as possible, while still remaining true to Aria and Ezra. This is, after all, a story about them. **

**For that reason, if you have any suggestions, constructive criticism or comments, please, let me know. I absolutely love the feeling I get when I log onto my email and see multiple emails from this site, telling me someone reviewed or favorited or has an alert for this story. And, considering I'm going to be cut off from the internet for a week, I would love to come back to find reviews galore. Haha. Anyway, I thank each and every one of you for the support I've gotten for this story, and I hope you keep reading until the very end!**

**Enjoy! -J**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight- "Four Means of Communication Equals Four Reasons"<strong>

Aria marked off another 'X' on her calendar. Only eighty-two more days until she would be returning to New York City. Eighty-two more days until she saw her best friends. Eighty-two more days until she would see Ezra. Eighty-two more days. Thinking to herself, she knew she would be able to last those eight-two days, it seemed manageable. She smiled to herself as she stood up from her chair, pushed it under her desk, and flipped off the light, walking out of her office.

She waved goodbye and smiled sympathetically at the other staff writers who remained on the floor, desperately trying to finish their stories by tomorrow's deadline. Aria was never one to procrastinate when it came to her writing, so she had her three articles finished and submitted that morning, meaning she would be able to actually go home at a decent hour.

She strode through the lobby and out the door leading to the parking lot, pressing the unlock button on her key. The lights of a glistening silver Toyota Prius parked not too far from the building, a gift from the Chronicle for her to use the duration of her time here, flashed, signaling that it was unlocked. Aria slipped into the driver's seat and placed her purse on the passenger's seat, taking off her heels and placing them under the seat beside her and taking out the bobby pins tightly holding her hair into a bun. She fluffed her hair and buckled her seatbelt, throwing her car in reverse and driving out of the parking structure.

It had just been a little over a week, and she was already familiar with all the streets and sights of San Francisco. It was exactly as she had imagined it to be, all green and open and more laid back, but, in a way, still slightly different. It was definitely a culture shock, and would take some getting used to, but she was already beginning to get adjusted quite well.

Aria thought back to her first full week in San Francisco, and realized there was absolutely nothing she could complain about. The people here were riculously friendly and waved hello whenever you saw them, unlike in New York where everyone kept their heads buried in their electronics, barely acknowledging your existence. She had a great job with her own office and no restrictions on her writing, an adorable house, and a brand-new car. What was there to protest? Truth be told, the only real thing she missed were her friends and family. But they understood she needed to do this on her own.

Twenty minutes later, Aria pulled up to her parking spot in front of her quaint little two story townhouse. She turned off the engine and slipped her shoes back on, grabbing her purse and locking the car before walking up the stairs to her front porch.

Just as she had expected, the package from Ezra had finally arrived. It wasn't a large box, but it wasn't exactly a small box either. And it was lighter than she had anticipated. She tucked the box under her arm and unlocked her house, locking the door behind her and flipping on the lights.

She placed her keys on the front table beside the front door, underneath the hanging mirror. She kicked off her shoes, and placed her purse on the table, next to her keys so she wouldn't forget anything the next morning. Making her way over to the open living room and kitchen space, she flipped on all the lights, making sure that everything was well lit, Ezra's package still safely under her arm.

Aria placed the box on the table in front of the TV and walked over to the phone, dialing the number for the pizza place nearby, not in the mood for actually going through the motions of cooking something for dinner. She sat down on the plush leather couch, turning on the TV to the news, and ripped off the packaging tape on Ezra's package, laughing as she realized what was inside.

Aria removed the packing peanuts, less of a necessity, she realized, rather, more as a form of retaliation for putting them in his box, since she knew Ezra hated them, and pulled out three stuffed animals. The first, a snail, was attached to the framed picture of her and Ezra at the museum in Philly. The second, a pigeon, had a scroll of paper with Aria's name on it anchored in its claws. And the third, an owl, had its wings wrapped around a weathered copy of a thick, leather bound book.

She smiled as she pulled off the snail from the frame and turned around, setting the frame on the table behind the couch that contained pictures of her loved ones. It was the same frame, she recognized, she had left behind in New York City. She had been meaning to call Spencer and ask if she could send it over, it was nice to know Ezra had taken care of it already. Aria then unhooked the scroll of paper from the pigeon's claws and set the pigeon next to the snail, and carefully pulled the book from the owl's wings and placed the owl next to the other two stuffed animals.

Tucking her feet under her, she unrolled Ezra's letter, in his signature chicken scratch writing, and began reading.

_Aria,_

_You said in your letter that we should basically communicate by all forms necessary, so I decided to take care of three at once: snail mail, carrier pigeon and by owl. I hope you like what each animal was carrying. The picture of us that the snail was stuck to was actually the one you left in your room at the apartment. I snuck it out of there after meeting Spencer, Emily and Hanna for dinner a couple nights ago. I thought you might need a reminder of what's waiting for you back here._

_As for the book, I'm sure you haven't even looked at it yet. Knowing you, you were more curious to read what my letter said, rather than looking at an old book. I suggest you at least check out the cover before you continue reading. No, actually, make sure you look inside._

Aria did what she was told and put the letter on the couch beside her, leaning over to reach for the book. She dusted off the cover, it was an older book, after all, and opened it. The strong, musty smell of leather and paper combined with particles of dust hit her as she gasped, reading the title and copyright pages. Her eyes drifted over the words over and over again, convinced she was reading it wrong. After reading it at least ten times, she was positive her eyes were not deceiving her. In her hands was a first edition copy of _To Kill A Mockingbird_, complete with an autograph from Harper Lee.

How Ezra had gotten a hold of a copy of this was beyond her. She remembered that she had read a story a few years ago about how a book like this had sold online for over $25,000. She knew he did not spend that much on it, just to give it to her. At least, that's what she hoped. She placed the book safely on her lap and grabbed the letter, beginning to read where she left off.

_I know you're wondering how the hell I got a copy of this. It's kind of a long story, but I think it'll entertain you. _

_Well, a few years ago, I was browsing the antique bookstore on 7__th__ and I found a box of books they had brought in. Digging through it, I came across this. I nearly cried when I saw that it was a first edition, and I clutched it to my chest, determined not to let it go, let alone let anyone know I had it._

_I figured they would charge me a fortune, but it was worth a shot. I asked the owner how much he was selling it for, and he said he would sell it to me for just $300. As much as I wanted to just pay for it and get the hell out of there before he realized he was going to be losing thousands of dollars by selling it to me for so little, my conscience forced me to explain to the owner that it was a rare copy. I remember his response clearly, after I explained that it could go for thousands, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "It was my ex-wife's, and I just want to get it away from me at whatever cost. If she saw it online, she would remember that it was hers and ask for it back. I'd rather make a couple hundred bucks off of it now, rather than thousands if it means I don't have to deal with her later." It was reason enough for me, so I paid the $300 for it and left._

_It must've been my lucky week, because, afterwards, I found out that Harper Lee was actually making a rare appearance at the Waldorf-Astoria the next day, and I begged one of my publishing friends to pull some strings and let me meet her. Long story short, I made it in and got her to sign it. Which is how I came to own a rare, autographed first edition copy of __To Kill a Mockingbird__._

_I want you to have it. Well, not really _have it_, per se, more like borrow it. Think of it as collateral. By "loaning" you this copy, I can ensure that you'll come back to New York soon to return it. And, if you do, no, _when _you do, the book is yours. I just want to make sure that you come back one day, because I do miss you._

_I hope you're doing well. Let's talk soon. _

_Love,  
><em>_Ezra_

It took Aria a few moments for her to pick up her jaw and understand what he had just given her. She placed the letter on the table and picked up the book again, turning it every which way in her hands. She was holding a $25,000 book in her hands. Sneaking a quick peek at the clock, 9:00 PM, she realized that she would have to wait until tomorrow to get in touch with him.

Until then, she was going to have to find a safe place to keep this book. Not only because it was essentially priceless, but also because it meant a lot to Ezra, she was sure. Once she found a safe hiding spot, she snuggled back into the couch, opened the book and immersed herself in the world the words painted.

* * *

><p>Ezra woke up late that morning, or, more precisely, afternoon, and immediately racked his mind, attempting to determine if there was anything that needed to be done. A smile crossed his face as he realized that there was absolutely nothing that he needed to accomplish this weekend, a rarity in the life of a teacher. The beeping sound emanating from his laptop broke him out of his state of euphoria, earning a groan. It was probably an email from another staff member, asking if he could help them with a random task.<p>

He unwillingly pulled the warm covers off of himself and opened the blinds, basking the room in a warm and sunny glow, and grabbed his laptop, making his way back to the bed.

'_Aria Montgomery would like to video chat with you. Accept?_' a popup on his computer read. He laughed, grateful that it wasn't another teacher asking for help on a Saturday morning, and more grateful that it was a chat with Aria that woke him up. Realizing he was without a shirt, he quickly grabbed the one he took off and threw onto the bed last night before falling asleep and put it on, clicking accept.

"Hey!" Aria said with a wave. Before he could even respond, he watched as she squinted her eyes, appraising his appearance. "You just woke up, didn't you?" She accused.

"No! Of course not! Why would you say that?" Ezra asked, wondering how she knew. Maybe it was the pillows behind him that indicated he was in bed? Or maybe it was the wrinkled shirt? Or maybe-

"Maybe because your hair is in a state of total disarray, sticking up in every way possible?" she answered with a laugh.

Ezra reached up and touched his hair. Just as she had said, his hair was a complete mess. He could tell without even looking at it.

"Told you so. But don't worry, it looks cute. Reminds me of our Saturday mornings together with cartoons and sugary cereal."

Ezra laughed, "Yeah, I definitely miss those days." He cleared his throat, feeling a little bit uncomfortable rehashing their past through a video chat. "So, I take it you got my package?"

"I can't believe you sent me that. Through USPS, nonetheless! You couldn't have at least gotten it certified or something? They just left a $25,000 book _on my front porch_!"

"You know it doesn't matter how much the book is worth."

"Ezra," she admonished.

"Okay," he admitted, "It does matter. But that's besides the point. I just wanted to make sure that you had at least one reason to come back to New York eventually."

He watched her arch her right eyebrow. "At least one reason? You know I have four as it is, not counting bringing the book to you."

"Really?" he asked, curiosity piqued. He couldn't resist asking, "Name them."

"Spencer, Hanna and Emily, for starters," Aria replied easily. She hesitated for a moment.

"What's the fourth?" Ezra asked, not being able to hide the hopefulness in his voice. _Say me, say me,_ he thought in his mind.

Ezra watched as Aria tucked a hair behind her ear, fidgeting nervously. "Well, you, obviously."

Ezra laughed softly, "Well, I just wanted to make to make sure you had a fifth. Just in case the four of us weren't reason enough."

"Either that or you just like to agitate me, forcing me to keep a ridiculously expensive book here in my house without any sort of protection," Aria muttered.

Ezra lightly released the breath he didn't even realize he had been holding back, clearly thankful that awkward part of the conversation was over. "Aria, you've seen our apartment building. I've been holding onto that book in my apartment for the last five years. It's more likely to get stolen here than it is over there, don't worry about it."

"That's not possible, but I'm willing to try," Aria looked around, "Let's not talk about this right now. I'm in a public place, and you never know who's listening."

"Yes, because there's definitely people looking to steal a-", Ezra didn't even get to finish his sentence before Aria shushed him.

"If you want to make sure I come back to New York holding _that thing_ safely in my hands, you're going to keep your mouth shut. I'm at work, anyone can hear you!" Aria hissed.

Ezra stifled another laugh; he loved when she got overworked about something so trivial. "Fine, as you wish. Speaking of work, how is it? Shouldn't you be working on a top secret, front page story right now?"

He watched as Aria rolled her eyes, "You should know me better than that. When it comes to anything having to do with writing, I'm done with it as soon as possible. I already have everything turned in, so I'm just hanging out in my office, waiting to see if anyone needs my help."

"Always the overachiever."

"That's what you always loved about me," she retorted, an easy smile on her face. Aria narrowed her eyes at him once more, "Wait, why are you still in bed? It's, like, almost one!"

Ezra held his hands up, "Hey, give me a break, it's the weekend and I don't have anything to do for once. Let me enjoy the little free time I have." He watched Aria's face drop minisculely before backtracking. "Which, you're letting me do, since I get to talk to you."

Aria scoffed, "Nice save." He faintly heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. "Hold on a sec," she said, calling 'Come in!' and turning to see who came through the door.

His brows furrowed as he saw a tall man in an impeccably well-tailored black suit walk through the door, lighting up a smile on Aria's face. "Tristan! Come over here really quick, I want you to meet someone." He watched as another face filled the screen next to Aria.

"Ezra, this is Tristan Hill, my boss," she said, gesturing to the man standing beside her. "Tristan, this is Ezra Fitz…" he watched as she trailed off, clearly unsure of what to introduce him as, "Um, one of my closest friends from Rosewood."

Ezra forced a smile on his face as he waved to Tristan, "Nice to meet you."

"So you're the famous Ezra Fitz! Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to meet you in person? Aria's told me so much about you."

Ezra couldn't help but hold back his surprise at that tidbit of information, "She has, has she?"

"Don't worry, it's only been good things," Tristan said with a laugh. He turned to address Aria, "Anyway, I needed to talk to you about something, but it seems like you're busy right now. It's not very important, it can wait. Just meet me in my office before you leave for lunch."

Aria was about to agree, when Ezra stepped in, "No, it's fine, you guys talk. I have to get going, anyway."

Aria looked at Ezra curiously, "You sure?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I have some things to take care of."

"Okay, if you're sure," Aria replied, giving in. "We'll talk again later. I miss you."

He smiled, "I miss you too."

"Thanks again for 'that thing'," she said, emphasizing the last two words, making him laugh. "Eighty-one more days," she whispered, obviously only for him to hear.

"I can't wait," he said. "I'll let you go, then. Talk to you later."

"Bye," she replied with a sad smile. A few seconds later, the screen went black. She was gone.

* * *

><p>"So, what did you need to talk about?" Aria asked after she disconnected her conversation from Ezra. She motioned for Tristan to sit down in the chair in front of her desk.<p>

He sat down in one fluid grace, crossing his legs and turning his attention to her. Even while he was sitting down, anyone could tell that he was gorgeous. Young, tall, blond haired, blue eyed, muscular, well-dressed, came from old money and had degrees from Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA _and_ Harvard- he was every girl and their mothers' dream guy.

Aria couldn't lie, if she had met him before meeting Ezra, she would've probably fallen desperately in love with him. However, she _did_ meet Ezra first, so there wasn't really anyone who could compare to him. He was her first and only real love, and there was no changing that. However, that didn't mean she didn't appreciate Tristan being easy on the eyes.

"It wasn't anything, really," he said, twiddling his thumbs, obviously attempting to buy time. "It's just, I have something I've been meaning to tell you ever since you started here."

"What is it?" Aria asked, thoughts fluctuating between anxious and concern. He looked so nervous, a side of him she had never seen. Granted, she had only known him for a little over a week, but that was besides the point, he was always debonair and charming, while also calm enough to handle any situation. It unnerved her seeing him so worked up.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now the way I act around you. No one here in the office really knows the real reason why, and I know they all have their suspicions. Which is why I decided to come to you directly, before they attacked you with their hypotheses."

"Tristan, you know you can tell me anything."

"I know, it's just, I don't want this to jeopardize our work area. I would hate for things to get awkward around here, especially since I love working with you."

"Tristan, please, just spit it out. You've got to tell me now, before I assume the worst," Aria said, terrified that her voice would give away the fact that she was scared to hear what he was going to say.

She watched as he took a breath and opened his mouth. "Aria, I…"


	9. Missed It By That Much

**A/N: So, I have to say, after spending a few days away from home and my laptop, immersing myself in all things college, things have kind of changed. Suddenly, I've lost the urge to write. **I know exactly where I want to take this, as a matter of fact, I already have the epilogue started, so it's not a matter of a lack of plot. It's more of a...loss of inspiration. **Which is why, I feel like I've been saying this a lot lately, the updates might become more sparse and the chapters might become shorter. **

**I really wanted to update, so I typed something out really quickly. This is literally the shortest chapter I have ever written. BUT, it works well with what's happening in the plot right now, and it gets everything moving a little more quickly. Hopefully you'll all understand how it's written, you'll see what I mean when you start reading.**

**I wanted to thank everyone for sticking by me and my erratic posting. I'm hoping that this block will clear as soon as possible, because I really do love posting new chapters and hearing what you guys think. So, for now, I'm not going to say when the next chapter will be up. Just make sure to keep an eye out for it. :)**

**Please review, they make my day. Enjoy! -J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine- "Missed It By That Much"<strong>

_You have one new voicemail message from Ezra Fitz on December 2 at 6:54 PM:_

"Hey Aria, it's Ezra. I had a couple free minutes right now, so I figured I'd give you a call. I guess you're busy. It's fine, I just wanted to let you know that I got your letter and I wanted to say thanks for the saltwater taffy you sent along with it. I literally finished the entire box within a span of three days.  
>Anyway, call me when you have time. Only seventy-nine days left. I miss you."<p>

.oOo.

_Aria Montgomery (December 3, 12:28 AM)_

_Hey Ezra,  
><em>_Sorry I couldn't answer your call, I was in the middle of an interview and I couldn't pick up my phone. I tried calling you afterwards, but your phone was off.  
><em>_I'm glad you liked the taffy. My first day here, the staff at The Chronicle left me a box just like that on my desk, and within a few hours, I was more than halfway finished with it.  
><em>_I know at this point you're probably asleep, but we should talk again soon. I miss you, too. Since it's past midnight, only seventy-eight days left._

_-Aria_

.oOo.

_Ezra Fitz (December 6, 2:43 PM)_

_Aria,  
><em>_I saw you were online a couple seconds ago, but I guess you got off. Anyway, I'm sorry it's taken me a while to respond, my internet was acting up and I couldn't get online for a couple days.  
><em>_I sent you a letter yesterday, hopefully you'll get it soon. The girls wanted to send something along with it, I'm not sure what it is, they wouldn't let me see. I wanted to warn you, just in case you were wondering why I would send whatever they sent to you.  
><em>_Hope you're doing well and that work's going well for you. Say hi to Tristan for me. Seventy-five days left._

_-Ezra_

.oOo.

_New email from: Aria Montgomery (December 8, 7:32 PM)_

_Hey, I logged onto Facebook a little while ago, for the first time in forever since they blocked me from logging on. Something about "maintenance"? Whatever. It wouldn't let me respond, so I figured I'd try emailing you to say a quick hello.  
><em>_I got the letter from you and the present from the girls- if they wouldn't tell you what it was, then I'm not, either. Haha. It wasn't anything illegal, though, so you don't have to worry about cops showing up at your door.  
><em>_I know school's almost out for Winter Break, so that gives you something to look forward to. Hopefully we'll both be a little less busy, so we'll be able to talk soon.  
><em>_Seventy-three days left._

_-Aria _

.oOo.

_New email from: Ezra Fitz (December 11, 6:12 AM)_

_Sorry for the late reply, I rarely ever check my personal email, since everyone emails the email address I use for the school. Not to mention, you somehow ended up in my Spam folder. I don't know how that happened. I think my email hates you. Haha.  
><em>_As long as it wasn't anything illegal, I'm fine with it.  
><em>_Winter Break just started yesterday, but I've still been really busy trying to prepare lesson plans for after break and grading papers. But I bet I'm nowhere as busy as you are.  
><em>_By the way, I was actually lucky enough to catch, online, the latest article you wrote about tuition increases in schools. It was really good, Aria. I'm so proud of you.  
><em>_Call me when you get the chance. Seventy days left._

_-Ezra_

.oOo.

_You have one new voicemail message from Aria Montgomery on December 12 at 11:34 PM:_

"Hey Ezra, it's Aria. I was actually able to get home at a decent hour, so I decided I'd try to give you a call before bed.  
>I'm glad you read my article. I was going to start sending you clippings of all the ones that ended up in print, but I figured you wouldn't be interested. Anyway, I've gotta go, my other line is beeping. Sixty-nine days."<p>

.oOo.

_You have one new voicemail message from Ezra Fitz on December 12 at 7:35 PM:_

"Hey Aria, I'm sorry I just missed your call. I feel like we're just missing each other by minutes lately. Call me back if you get the chance, I'm still awake. Sixty-nine days."

.oOo.

_New text message from: Aria Montgomery (December 13, 12:59 PM)_

_Hey! I guess we did just miss each other by minutes. Not minutes even, seconds. I'm running out of characters in my text, so I just wanted to say sorry about not calling back, I fell asleep.  
><em>_Sixty-eight days._

.oOo.

_New text message from: Ezra Fitz (December 13, 3:54 PM)_

_You do know that if you go over the character limit in a text, it splits it up into multiple messages, right?  
><em>_Send me the clippings, I'd love to read the articles that made it in print. Maybe I'll even show my class so that they know what a real writer should write like._

.oOo.

_Aria Montgomery (December 14, 9:41 PM)_

_I guess you just got offline. I kind of wanted to chat with you.  
><em>_Anyway, I sent you an entire folder full of clippings. Share them with your class, if you want, just don't tell them I was a former student. Haha._

_-Aria_

.oOo.

_Ezra Fitz (December 15, 7:13 PM)_

_I logged off for a second to run to the Chinese take-out place around the corner, only to come back home to find that I barely missed you. I wanted to chat with you, too.  
><em>_Why wouldn't I tell them you were a former student? It would give them something to aspire to be. Not to mention, they'd actually realize that what I'm teaching them will come in handy if they ever want to be a full-fledged writer.  
><em>_Don't hate me, but how many more days until you come back? I've been losing track. Sixty-something?_

_-Ezra_

.oOo.

_You have one new voicemail message from Aria Montgomery on December 16 at 11:29 AM:_

"Ezra, we really have to stop missing each other like this. Hope you're doing well and got the- _Oh! Sorry, I'll be right there!_ Ezra, I'm sorry, I have to go. Let's actually talk soon, okay? I'm hating the fact that we're talking through voicemails and Facebook messages."

.oOo.

_You have one new voicemail message from Ezra Fitz on December 18 at 2:37 PM:_

"Aria, I don't know what's going on, but I'm really trying to get a hold of you. I miss talking to you. I got the clippings, I really enjoyed reading them. So did my class. Anyway, I hope you can carve out a few spare moments in your busy life to talk to your old English teacher.  
>By the way, when's your flight back? I lost the calendar I marked it on, and now I seriously can't figure out how many days until I-"<p>

.oOo.

_Aria Montgomery (December 19, 12:52 AM)_

_I'm sorry my life has been so busy that I haven't been able to talk to you. Maybe this weekend? I have a couple hours free on Saturday. Should I call you?_

.oOo.

_Ezra Fitz (December 19, 6:12 AM)_

_I'm actually busy this weekend, hanging out with some friends in Manhattan. Maybe another time?_

.oOo.

_New text message from: Aria Montgomery (December 19, 3:15 PM)_

_Fine. Have fun with your friends, call me when you have a spare moment._

.oOo.

_New text message from: Ezra Fitz (December 19, 4:42 PM)_

_Thanks, I will. I have an idea, why don't you just call me when you have time to fit me in your hectic schedule?_

.oOo.

_New text message from: Aria Montgomery (December 20, 9:27 PM)_

_Whatever. Let's just talk whenever we see each other online or something._

.oOo.

_New text message from: Ezra Fitz (December 21, 12:15 AM)_

_Sounds good to me._


	10. It's All Going Up In The Air

**A/N: I have the best readers in the world. No joke.**

**I'm keeping the rest of this Author's Note until the end. Nothing big, I just wanted to say a few thank you's for the reviews of the last chapter. :)**

**Enjoy! -J**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, except the characters you don't recognize.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten- "It's All Going Up In The Air"<strong>

The incessant shrill originating from Aria's cell phone was enough to make her scream. "Ugh, hang up! I'll call you in the morning!" she muttered, picking up the pillow beside her on the bed and tucking it over her head. She sighed in contentment when the ringing stopped, only to start up again a few moments later. "Fine!" Aria grumbled into the dark air, throwing the pillow off her head and fumbling in the dark for her phone, not bothering to open her eyes.

She flipped it open, "Hello?"

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" a woman's voice on the other end asked.

"Mom?" Aria asked, immediately bolting up and turning on the light on her bedside table. "Is everything okay? Is it Dad? Mike?"

Aria heard her mother laugh on the other end, "Don't worry, they're fine, everything's fine with us."

Aria furrowed her brows, "Well, if everything is okay, why are you calling me repeatedly at," she paused to look at the alarm clock beside her, "3:17 in the morning?"

"Because I booked you on an 11 AM flight leaving from San Francisco International Airport for today, and I know how long it takes you to pack." Ella responded nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just sprung an impromptu flight on her daughter. "Besides, if I didn't do it myself, I knew you wouldn't."

"May I ask why?" Aria asked, "Not to mention, where am I going?"

She could almost hear her mother's silent confusion, "Have you already forgotten?"

"Forgotten what, Mom?" Aria's patience was wearing thin, not that she had much of it this early in the morning.

"Aria," Ella chided, "I need you out here to help plan out our annual New Year's party. Besides, Christmas is coming up right around the corner. Spencer, Emily and Hanna are already here, you're the only one we're waiting for."

"Why would they be out there so early? And what do you mean Christmas is right around the corner? It isn't for another few weeks."

"Another few weeks? Aria, have you looked at a calendar lately?"

"I've been busy, Mom. I've barely had time to do laundry, let alone look at a calendar." Her eyes drifted over to the calendar that was on her desk, the calendar that she had been using to countdown the days until she was to return to New York, pangs of guilt beginning to wash over her.

The last time she had crossed off a day on that calendar had been weeks ago, and, deep down inside of her, she was dreading going back to New York and facing Ezra. She hated how much they had drifted apart, hated how things had gone yesterday. In her defense, he was to blame, also. It wasn't all her fault. It wasn't as if she had been purposefully pushing Ezra away. Besides, he wasn't the only one she had stopped really speaking to- it was basically everyone who lived outside of San Francisco.

But could anyone blame her? Every day was built around going to work at The Chronicle, furiously typing up front page articles and conducting interviews. Her free nights were spent either going out with her new friends or staying home with leftover Chinese food and her laptop, working on finishing her novel. She tried to find time to get in touch with everyone, but it was difficult, considering life in New York and Rosewood still went on without her.

That was probably the part she hated most. She wasn't self-centered, far from it, but getting used to the fact that her friends and family all had their own schedules and plans that didn't involve her was difficult. It hurt whenever she would call someone, desperate to talk to them, only to hear that they were busy or about to go to bed. Getting a dose of her own medicine wasn't the easiest thing for her to handle.

"Hello? Aria? Are you still there?"

Aria shook her head, the thoughts previously filling her head quickly fleeing. "Yeah, I'm still here. What were you saying?"

"I was saying, I emailed your itinerary to you already, and your dad will probably be the one picking you up."

Aria ran her free hand through her hair, looking around her room, determining what to pack. "Okay, I'll see you in a few hours."

"I'll see you then. I love you."

"Love you, too," Aria said, hanging up. She groaned and fell backwards onto her pillow, flipping open her phone again and dialing a familiar number.

"Hello?" Tristan answered groggily.

"Hey, Tristan, it's Aria."

"Yeah, I kind of got that when your ringtone started playing."

Aria smiled to herself, "I have my own ringtone for your phone?"

She heard Tristan chuckle lightly, "Of course you do. Are you surprised?"

"Yes, a little bit," she admitted.

"I told you, you're important to me. I needed a way to differentiate you from everyone else in my phone."

Aria was silent for a moment, letting his words seep into her. He was too charming for his own good sometimes. "Well, thank you," she said sincerely, rolling onto her side to face the clock, before changing the subject. "Anyway, I was just calling to ask if I could have two weeks off. You can send me any articles you need me to do and I'll just email them to you when I finish."

"Don't worry, there's no need, the staff can cover for you. But, if it's not overstepping my boundaries, may I ask you why you need the two weeks off?"

"My mother called me a few minutes ago, telling me that she booked me a flight home for the holidays. It leaves at 11. Today."

Aria thought she faintly heard Tristan sigh in the background. "Ahh, you're going back to Rosewood. You're lucky you have somewhere to go. My parents left for a European tour last week, my brother is on his private island with his new fianceé, and my sister is with her in-laws. So, I'm stuck here in San Fran by myself."

Aria couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. Her and Tristan had grown pretty close lately, close enough that he had felt safe enough to open up to her all about his unhealthy relationship with his family.

From the time he was young, his parents would always leave him and his older brother and younger sister alone for weeks on end at their mansion in Massachusetts. The only company they had came in the form of maids, butlers, drivers and a slew of other servants. Although he rarely ever saw his parents growing up, he still always felt as if nothing he did was ever enough to get their attention. His brother, Brendan, was meticulously groomed by his parents, poised to take over the family business. His little sister, Blakely, was their princess, constantly fawned over and never forced to do work.

Brendan and Blakely rarely ever had to work hard to gain their parents approval, they attained it the moment they were born. They were the perfect blond-haired, blue-eyed, intelligent, well-mannered, golden children. Tristan, on the other hand, being the middle child, was often overlooked. Even though looked exactly like his siblings, those who were able to grow close to him knew there was something special in him. He had a subtle spark that his siblings did not have. He was easily more intelligent, more hard-working, and yet, people who did not know him failed to notice this because he was so shy.

But his quietness failed to deter him from working hard to earn his parents acceptance. He secured perfect grades throughout his entire schooling, acquired acceptances to all of the best universities around the world, made the right connections and quickly worked his way up to a position as a prominent and sought-after writer. He had even broken out of his shell and became more outspoken. And yet, though he was doing well making a living for himself without his parents help, he still craved his parents' attention. Hearing about his struggles made Aria that much more grateful for her own loving parents.

"Well," Aria said, drawing out the word while a thought popped into her mind, "Why don't you come to Rosewood with me? Spencer, Hanna and Emily are out there right now. I'd love for you to meet them. And my parents, also. I know they'd love you."

She could sense Tristan's hesitation. "Are you sure it isn't too soon? I mean, what would you even introduce me as? And besides, I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Tristan," Aria emphasized, "I'm not letting you stay here in San Francisco by yourself for Christmas and New Year's. My parents won't mind, in fact, I'll bet they'll be thrilled to meet someone from out here. And we can worry about introductions when we get there, let's not think about that right now."

She could feel Tristan's reluctance wavering. She had to admit, knowing that Tristan would be at her side when she went back home seemed to calm her down a little bit. At least she would still have a little piece of her new life with her, reminding her why she needed to stay strong and not give in just yet. "Okay, fine. I'd love to see how a small town celebrates the holidays. It'll be a change from my tradition of eating a seven-course dinner at some restaurant by myself on Christmas Eve."

Aria grinned, "Yes! Thank you so much. I promise, you'll have a lot of fun." She bounced off her bed and grabbed her laptop off of her desk before plopping back down on her bed, pulling a pillow onto her lap and placing her laptop on top. "Okay, let me see if I can book you on the same flight as me. According to my mom, I leave San Fran International at 11 AM, Continental Airlines, flight-"

"Aria," Tristan said, cutting her off.

"Yeah?"

"I already booked the flight three minutes ago, I just need you to give me your seat number. Hopefully there's an open seat next to you."

Aria rolled her eyes. It was just like him to already be ahead of her. "Row 17, seat B."

"Perfect, I'll take seat A, then," she heard him laugh, "You know, that's actually the only seat left available on this flight."

"Maybe it's fate," she suggested.

"Maybe it is." Aria listened as he typed on his keyboard, finalizing his reservations. "I should probably let you go pack, then. I need to call Logan and tell him that he'll take over for the next two weeks so we can enjoy this vacation. I'll send the car to pick you up around 9?"

Aria giggled, "Sounds good to me. I'll see you at 9." The two said their goodbyes and Aria hung up, feeling a little better knowing that Tristan would be beside her.

* * *

><p>Ezra sat on his couch, a bowl of Trix in his hands, his laptop beside him and the TV on to an old episode of Spongebob Squarepants. Not that he was actually paying attention. He was paying more attention to his cell phone on the table in front of him, staring it down, determining whether he wanted to be the one to give in and call Aria, or whether he would wait for her to make the first move.<p>

Half of him was tempted to pick up the phone and give her a call, because he knew that it wasn't her fault. Granted, it wasn't really his fault, either. It was no one's fault, really, they had both just gotten more and more busy. He couldn't speak for her, but from his point of view, the reason why they had lashed out at each other was because of the building frustration. Frustration that they weren't as close as they used to be.

He was angry with himself for letting his emotions get the best of him. He knew better than to let that happen. But there was no use thinking of what happened in the past. What's done was done, and there was no changing that. The only thing he could do now was try to make amends. Which he knew from experience was easier said than done.

Ezra leaned forward and placed his bowl of mushy Trix on the table next to his cell phone. He sighed and reached for his phone, making the decision that he should be the one to call Aria, at the exact moment when it began to ring. His heart sped up as he answered eagerly, hoping that it was her, not bothering to check who was actually calling.

"Hey, Ezra?"

Not exactly the voice he was expecting. He pulled the phone from his ear and looked at the number, recognizing the New York City area code, but not recognizing the number. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. "Yes, who's this?"

"It's Spencer. Spencer Hastings."

Ezra leaned back into his sofa. He had gotten Spencer, Emily and Hanna's numbers shortly after Aria left, but he still had yet to actually program them into his phone. "Oh hey, Spencer. What's up?" he paused momentarily, "Wait, why are you calling me? Why didn't you just drop by?"

"Um, because I'm not exactly in New York right now."

"You're not?"

"No," she stopped to take a breath before lowing her voice down to a whisper. "Listen, I know something's been up with you and Aria lately. I don't know what happened, but I know it must have been something big if you two aren't talking anymore."

"Spencer-"

"Let me finish," she insisted. "I don't have much time. I just wanted to tell you that Aria is coming back to Rosewood for Christmas and New Year's."

Ezra cocked an eyebrow in curiosity, "And you thought I should know this why?"

"Let. Me. _Finish_," Spencer hissed, emphasizing each word. "I know you're not planning on doing anything for the holidays, and don't try to tell me that you are, because you told us the last time we were there that you were spending it alone at home. So, I was thinking, why don't you fly down to Rosewood and spend it with us?"

Ezra hesitated a moment before speaking. "Are you sure that's the best idea?"

"What are you talking about? It's the perfect idea. You and Aria will be stuck in the same small town for two weeks. You'll be forced to finally face your problems. Don't tell me you haven't been looking forward to that."

"Do her parents know you're inviting me? Does _Aria_ know?" Ezra asked, dodging the assertion.

"Well, no, not exactly."

"What do you mean, 'Not exactly'?" Ezra asked cautiously.

"She kind of doesn't know that I'm telling you this right now," Spencer admitted. Ezra began to speak, but Spencer cut him off, a rush of words streaming from her lips. "I know she's going to kill me for telling you, but I hate seeing you two like this. I know you mean a lot to each other and that you both can't bear to not talk for more than a few days. You've both been apart for eight years as it is, and I'm sure as hell not going to stand back and let everything you have together fall apart in front of my face."

He listened as Spencer took a deep breath to calm herself. "You both are stubborn, so I knew that if I didn't intervene, nothing good would come of this. And you're starting to grow on me, Ezra. I'd hate to lose you as a friend, just because you two couldn't at least attempt to fix what was wrong." Spencer stopped her speech momentarily before adding, "Not to mention, I'd hate myself if I allowed myself to be complaisant and ignored what you are doing to each other."

Ezra rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. "You're right," he admitted.

He scoffed as Spencer replied, "I know I'm right. Now, are you coming down here or not?"

He stood up and looked around his apartment for his suitcase, "Are you even sure that her parents will agree to this? I mean, I haven't exactly kept in touch with them ever since I left Hollis. Wouldn't they find it a little suspicious that I suddenly return to Rosewood at the same exact time Aria returns?"

"Her parents were just talking about you earlier. They were wondering where you might be, and I casually mentioned that we just discovered you were our neighbor out in NYC. It didn't seem like they had a problem with it. They say hello, by the way."

"That doesn't answer the question, though. Wouldn't it seem a little suspicious?"

"Not if I tell them that I invited you because I felt horrible that you are all alone in New York, spending Christmas and New Year's with nothing but leftover Chinese takeout and movies on Netflix."

"You know, that's not a far cry from what I was actually going to do."

Spencer laughed, "Yeah, I know. So, are you coming or not?"

Before she even asked, Ezra had his laptop on his lap, already confirming his flight leaving JFK International Airport at four that day. "I'm already booking my flight. I'll be there."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: To answer MzPink4 and jayceb1's questions, yes, you will find out what Tristan said to Aria. Very soon. I'm toying with the possibility of it showing up in the next one, but that's only a possibility if you guys can get me to at least 100 reviews. I know you can do it, it's only a couple more. Haha. :)**

**To whispered touches, thank you for your suggestions! I'm the same way, I usually find a song I'm obsessed with and I listen to that over and over again, on full blast, but I'm running out of songs right now. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them in your reviews.**

**To CrazyLove345, thank you sooooooo much! I'm not gonna lie, your kind review literally made me grin for the rest of the day. It's reviews like this that make me want to keep writing forever, and remind me why I do this in the first place.**

**To crazyatbest, SolitudeMyLove, 3murphytoddlers, randomness 101 -Fanfic Freak, msbookworm93 and Madje Knotts, I wanted to thank each and every one of you for leaving me a review. It really and truly does mean so much to me. **

**To iWatch2much, don't worry, I definitely have every intention of keeping this going until the very end. There's absolutely no way I'm giving this up. :)**

**And Live Like Music., even though you technically didn't review, I had to ask, is your username in reference to Instant Star? Because if it was, I'm going to say right now, you better be a Jommy fan. :)**

**Finally, to every single person who is reading, has an alert, has favorited, or left a review that I accidentally didn't acknowledge, I thank you so much. If possible, leave me a review, I would love to know what you think. I take everything you guys say into consideration, and I'm open to suggestions, so let me know.**

**Phew! Okay, now I'm done. Haha. Thank you again so much! **


	11. Hello Again, Stranger

**A/N: So, I feel terrible, since I haven't updated in a reaaaaaaly long time. It's almost been a full month. Whoa. It wasn't intentional, I promise, it's just that things in my life started piling up and everything got so busy that I kept pushing this onto the back burner. Just know that the lack of updates wasn't due to the fact that I don't have any ideas as to where this is leading, because I had already figured that out a while ago, and that even though new ideas are coming to my head every day, the end result still remains the same.**

**That being said, I'm thinking of ending this story soon. The ending is tentatively set for after possibly six more chapters, which isn't necessarily set in stone, but it's what I'm planning. Even though I'm not absolutely positive of how many more chapters there are, I know I am going to try to finish this up before I start classes in September, meaning I'm going to do my absolute best to update regularly.**

**Also, I'm sorry if my writing is a little rusty. I've been watching and reading fanfics for Gilmore Girls a lot lately, so if it seems like the characters are more resembling characters from GG (Aria/Ezra bantering like Rory/Logan, for example), that's why. It's going to take a while for me to get back into the swing of things, but I'm willing to work through it if you guys are willing to stick by me and this story.**

**Sorry for the ridiculously long Author's Note. I promise, this chapter will be worth it. At least, I hope you guys think it's worth it. Haha. Starting in this chapter, right from the beginning, actually, things are going to start picking up speed. **

**Thank you once again for the reviews (over 100! WOW.), and please keep reviewing! I honestly never thought that my little one-shot would ever grow to something this big, and it still blows my mind whenever I think about how many people are actually reading this. You guys are the absolute best, I truly mean it.**

**-J**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven- "Hello Again, Stranger"<strong>

"I can't believe we got here early and they ended up delaying the flight!" Aria grumbled, making sure her coffee was safely placed on the small table beside her before dropping into a chair at the Starbucks near her and Tristan's gate at San Francisco International Airport. "I was really looking forward to curling up into an uncomfortable seat and sleeping soon."

Tristan shook his head and lowered himself into the chair opposite to her. "Aria, it's only a one hour delay. We're leaving at 12, we'll be there by 8:30. With the time difference, that still gives you five and a half hours to sleep, stop whining," he reasoned, chuckling lightly.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who's running on two hours of sleep."

"Actually, I am. You're the one whocalled _me _at 3:30 in the morning, remember?"

Aria rolled her eyes, "Fine, you win."

Tristan widened his eyes in mock horror, "You're kidding! You actually admitted that I'm right for once? You really _are_ sleep deprived!"

"Shut up," Aria answered with an easy laugh before leaning forward to slap Tristan on the arm. "Besides, you shouldn't be teasing me when we have more important matters to discuss."

"Like?" Tristan prompted.

"Like, what are we going to tell my parents?" Aria took a sip from her coffee cup then placed it back on the table, a glistening shine from the catching her attention from the corner of her eye. She looked down at her left hand, placing it in her lap and fiddling with the ring on her ring finger. She still wasn't used to the added weight on her finger. "What happens when they notice the ring? I mean, it's not exactly inconspicuous."

Aria twisted her hand from side to side, admiring the ring from every angle. She had to admit, the simplicity of the ring was beautiful. White gold with a delicate, but large, princess cut diamond centered precisely in the middle of the band, it could easily pass as contemporary. It looked exactly like the type of ring that would be proudly displayed in the main display window at Tiffany & Co. on 5th Avenue in New York City that girls fawned over whenever passing by. However, when one looked at the ring closely, if they ever got the rare opportunity to, there was no denying it, it could be seen that it was a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. A treasured family heirloom, at that. One that was now fit snugly on the ring finger of one Aria Montgomery.

Tristan leaned his head back on his chair and rubbed his forehead, groaning. "It's too early in the morning to be talking about this."

"Well we're going to have to talk about it soon. In a little more than seven hours, we're going to be landing in Rosewood, and someone's going to see the ring, and they're definitely going to ask questions. Lots of them. Let's just get it all sorted out now, while we still have time."

"Why don't we just tell them the truth?" Tristan said, not bothering to open his eyes.

"What truth? That we got drunk in Las Vegas and I somehow ended up in bed with you the next morning, with your family's priceless and generations old ring on my finger? That we tried to figure out what had happened, but we had no paperwork, no evidence, no witnesses, let alone any idea whether we had even gotten married in the first place, so we just decided to, in your words, 'let it be' and 'see how things work out'? How does that sound to you?" Her harsh tone surprised not only herself, but also Tristan, whose eyes promptly snapped open.

"Aria..." Tristan began warningly, but Aria cut him off.

"Honestly, Tristan. What _exactly_ are we supposed to tell everyone? Because, I know my parents are pretty liberal, this is really pushing it. No one's going to be happy."

"Well, we don't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"Yes we do," Aria said, leaning forward towards Tristan and narrowing her eyes.

"No, we don't," he mimicked her movement and replied with an air of finality. They locked eyes for a few moments, both unwilling to waver. Tristan sighed and tore his eyes from Aria, falling back into the chair and running a hand through his already slightly tousled hair. "Let's just stick to our agreement. We'll be fine. Please?"

Aria shook her head and took her coffee cup into her hands, taking a long sip before speaking, regretting saying the word before it even left her lips. "Fine."

* * *

><p>Ezra settled into his seat at his gate at JFK, dropping his laptop bag onto the seat next to him and leaning back into his seat, shutting his eyes. He didn't need to check the time, he already knew he had another two and a half hours before his flight began boarding, and another thirty minutes afterwards before the plane would even leave the ground. Of course, none of these thoughts helped to calm himself down.<p>

He was nervous. Well, that was probably an understatement. More specifically, he was scared. Like, "if he continued to drum his fingers on the armrest his fingers would not only eventually run through the soft cushioning, but also through the metal bar underneath, meaning if he wasn't careful, a chunk of that armrest would be on the floor in a matter of moments" scared. He opened his eyes and cautiously snuck a peek at the few people around him, releasing the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, when he saw no one was paying him any attention.

It was settled, he needed to find something to preoccupy his time with. Except that he had already responded to all his emails, run through his favorite songs on iTunes twice, called a few people he had been meaning to speak to for quite some time, on top of finishing grading the papers he had been lagging behind on. He had absolutely nothing to occupy his thoughts for the next two hours and twenty minutes.

His thoughts were promptly interrupted by the sound of a little girl. Ezra turned his head to where he heard the voices coming from, the gate just across the moving walkway from him, a smile slowly coming to his face.

"Please, Mom? Vanessa's mom said I could open it once we were at the airport!" Ezra saw the girl clutching an elaborately wrapped present to her chest, practically on her knees, begging her mother to let her open it.

"It's your choice. I mean, if you don't want to wait until it's actually Christmas to open your present in front of Daddy and Grandma and Grandpa, it's up to you," her mother replied, laying on the guilt thickly. Ezra couldn't see the woman's face, as she was sitting behind a post that just so happened to keep her hidden. But he was sure if he could, he would be able to see the slightest hint of a smile rising up on her lips.

"Fine. I'll wait," the girl pouted, reluctantly handing the present back to her mother.

He heard the mother laugh and reach out to ruffle the girl's hair, an adorable mass of dark brown, glistening ringlets. Ezra watched as the girl crossed her arms in front of her before sitting down next to her mother, a look of annoyance plastered on her face. He laughed at the scene before a thought flashed through his mind. That woman's laugh, he recognized that laugh. He just couldn't place it at that moment.

Before he was allowed to dwell on the familiar laughter for too long, his mind was interrupted by another, more important thought. He was going back to Rosewood. For _Christmas_. Meaning Christmas lights, a Christmas tree and Christmas presents. And he didn't have a single present for any person with him, let alone one for Aria. He frantically searched the airport around him, hoping, possibly in vain, for a store that could contain acceptable presents for everyone.

His eyes flitted around until they finally came to a rest on the sole store that could contain something appropriate. Feeling the ache in his pockets, he grudgingly stood up, slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder and making his way to the store. As he walked in and looked around, he hardly felt the two pairs of eyes that had followed him from the time he stood up.

* * *

><p>Tristan placed his hand lightly on the small of Aria's back, carefully guiding her tired body through the crowded plane to their seats. "I didn't realize there would be this many people on our flight. Remind me again why we didn't fly first class, Mr. I'm-the-Editor-in-Chief-of-a-Well-Known-Newspaper-and-Can-Pull-Strings?"<p>

Tristan laughed lightly, "Because your mother booked your flight and all the first class seats on this plane were booked."

"I still can't believe you agreed to fly Economy. I bet you've never even been _on_ a commercial plane in your life. You've probably always flown on your own private jets."

"My _parents'_ private jets. Minus that little technicality, yes, this is my first time on a commercial flight," he backtracked when he noticed the people around them eying him critically, "But, there's a first time for everything. This is a new experience." He shrugged, attempting to sound less privileged than Aria made him out to be, "I'm willing to fly commercial, or Economy for that matter, again. It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be."

"Just wait until you're up in the air. That's when the real fun begins," Aria muttered, allowing Tristan to slide into their row first before settling down in her own seat.

"Oh come on, don't be such a snob," Tristan laughed, removing his jacket and placing it on his lap. "Are you sure you want the center seat? I could switch with you, if you want."

Aria sighed, "As long as the person next to me doesn't hog my armrest, I'm fine. I know how you are about wanting to be able to see everything outside your window." She grimaced, shaking her head. "I love flying, as long as it doesn't involve me being able to see just how high up in the sky we actually are."

"Point taken."

Aria dug through her purse to find her phone, making sure it was turned off, then pulled out her deflated travel pillow and promptly began to blow it up.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" Tristan asked as Aria finished inflating her pillow, buckled her seatbelt, propped the pillow against his shoulder and prepared to sleep.

"Not when it comes to sleep."

Tristan chuckled and draped his jacket over her shoulders, serving as her makeshift blanket. Aria smiled to herself and found herself beginning to doze off, feeling comfortable with her head on Tristan's shoulder and his signature scent surrounding her from his jacket. Just as she was about to fully give herself up to sleep, she felt the seat beside her shift, signaling the arrival of their neighbor for the next five and a half hours.

"Hey," she heard the man's voice greet. Her brows furrowed as she raked her mind, trying to place his voice. It sounded so familiar, a voice she recognized from the past.

"Hey," Tristan replied quietly, unaware that Aria wasn't asleep.

Aria mind battled for a moment between going to sleep or opening her eyes to determine who the mystery voice belonged to. But, in the end, sleep won over, as it always did. She let herself relax into Tristan's shoulder and enjoyed her few hours of peace.

* * *

><p>Ezra boarded his flight at exactly 3:47 PM, not that he was constantly checking his watch or anything like that. He made his way though the crowded aisle, gently pushing people to the side until he made it to his row all the way at the back of the plane. He had chosen this seat not because it was the only seat open, but because the row, at the time of booking, was the only empty one. The thought of being able to fly to Rosewood without anyone beside him constantly trying to make small talk seemed like a good idea, since it would allow him to be alone with his thoughts. He had a lot to think about.<p>

He sank into his aisle seat and placed his laptop bag beneath the seat in front of him, but not before pulling out the only gift he had bought from the store. He buckled his seatbelt, ignoring the chaos around him and, instead, focused on the small blue box in his hands.

When he walked into the jewelry store, the only store he saw where he could buy presents that didn't have anything with an 'I Love NY!" logo plastered on every open space, he realized that he didn't even _need _to have presents now, he could just buy them when he reached Rosewood. It was only the 22rd, stores were open the next day anyway, so he had time to make it out to the mall before going to the Montgomery house on Christmas Eve.

As he was making his way out of the store, visibly relived that he didn't have to spend close to thirty thousand dollars on presents, his eyes landed on a piece of jewelry. He didn't know what came over him, but before he knew it, he was standing at the counter, jewelry in hand, closely inspecting it. "It's beautiful," he breathed. And it was. White gold band, medium-sized square sapphire stone in the center, flanked by two glittering diamonds; it was a gorgeous ring.

"18K white gold band, genuine sapphire stone, the diamonds on either side comes out to about a karat each. Certified, also," the older salesman replied with a crinkly smile and a wink. "Your girl's going to love it, I guarantee."

Ezra let out a stiff chuckle, "There's actually no girl, right now. This ring just caught my attention on my way out."

He watched as the salesman appraised him carefully, "There is a girl, but you're not together, right? Let me guess, out of state job?"

"How'd you guess?" Ezra smiled, impressed with how the salesman hit the nail right on the head on the first try.

He shrugged, "I could see it in your eyes. I've seen a lot of men come through here in my time, so I've had lots of experience with reading them."

Ezra nodded, still holding the ring in his hands. He could see him slipping this ring onto the finger of a woman one day, but that wasn't what scared him. What scared him was the fact that there was only one woman whose finger he could imagine placing this ring on. "How much?"

The salesman lightly took the price tag into his hands and plugged it into the calculator. "The price right now is set at four thousand." He watched as Ezra's eyes widened in shock, and laughed lightly. "But, I will say, it has a steep discount. The manager has been trying to get rid of this ring for two years now. People are always coming in to look at it, but no one has ever bought it. I just convinced him a few minutes ago to put it on clearance. Eighty percent off. That discount brings it down to..." he turned the calculator to Ezra.

"Eight hundred dollars?"

"I'll even take off another hundred and wave the sales tax, if you promise me one thing."

"What's that?" Ezra asked, not believing his incredible luck.

"Promise me that one day, you'll give this ring to that woman you love. Tell her how you feel, then give her this ring. Even if she's with someone else, she deserves to know how you feel about her. And she deserves this ring."

Ezra nodded, and looked the old man in the eyes, "I promise."

"Excuse me, I think you're in our seat," a woman's voice said, pulling him out of his reverie. "We have seats 37 B and C. I would assume you're in seat A, and that's the window seat."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ezra apologized, pulling his laptop bag from under the seat and scooting over to the window seat. It was then that he looked up, and saw a face he hadn't seen in years. "Jackie?"

"Ezra?" She responded, shocked.

"Mom, what's wrong?" a little girl asked from beside Jackie's side. Ezra looked to the girl and immediately recognized her from the gate across from his earlier. Same glistening curls, same crossed arms, same annoyed expression. But something caught his attention that he didn't notice before. Her eyes were a striking blue. The same color blue that ran in the Fitz family.

* * *

><p>"What part of California are you from?" Tristan asked the man sitting on the other side of Aria quietly, trying his hardest not to wake her. He knew she had had trouble sleeping the last few days because she had been working so hard at the paper, so he was more than willing to let her catch up on sleep during their flight. The plane had taken off about thirty minutes ago, and he figured, since there was about five more hours left on their journey, he might as well try to make small talk with the man.<p>

"I'm actually from Los Angeles. I've been living there for seven years now," the man replied, looking relieved that Tristan had spoken first. It was obvious that this guy was bored, too.

"Southern California is great, but I love it up north more. I'm from San Francisco, obviously," Tristan said with a chuckle. "Why are you flying out from San Fran, if you're from LA? Why not LAX?"

"First off, I hate LAX. All the traffic and the people milling around the airport, it's just not my style. I decided to rent a convertible and take a road trip up to San Francisco to catch a flight to Rosewood out from here." Tristan cocked an eyebrow, knowing there was more to the story. "Okay," he relented, "this was the only open flight out of California to Rosewood, so I had no choice but to rent a convertible and drive up here. But that still doesn't change the fact that I wanted to do it anyway."

"Don't worry, I completely understand," Tristan replied with a knowing smile. A silence spread over them before the man spoke again.

"So, what brings you to Rosewood?"

"Actually, she," Tristan said, nodding towards Aria, "is from Rosewood. We came to spend Christmas and New Year's with her family."

The man spotted the ring on the Aria's ring finger, "Fianceé?"

Tristan struggled for a fraction of a second before speaking, "Wife. We're newlyweds."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks." The silence was disconcerting. Tristan cleared his throat, attempting to diffuse the tension. "What about you? Why are you going to Rosewood?"

The man froze, looking uncomfortable. "I, um, I'm actually going back to Rosewood for a girl."

"Love of your life?"

"Something like that," the man said, shifting slightly. "I used to live in Rosewood when I was in high school. There was a girl I was involved with back there; I was definitely in love with her. But some things with my family came up, so I flew out to California. I didn't mean to spend more than a month there, but a month turned into two months, two months turned into a year, and a year turned into seven."

Tristan felt Aria's body to rigid next to him. He looked down at her and saw the stressed expression on her face. She was awake. And she knew this man.

"Anyway, we broke up and lost contact with each other. I heard last week from some mutual friends that she was going to be back in town to celebrate the holidays, so I made a quick decision to fly down to Rosewood to surprise her." The man laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, you probably weren't expecting to have a stranger spill all of his problems on you on the plane."

Tristan returned the laugh, "Don't worry, it's no problem at all. I initiated it, anyway." He gently tried to reach his hand out for the man to shake, wanting to properly introduce himself. "Tristan Hill."

The man lightly shook Tristan's hand, "Caleb Rivers. Nice to meet you."

Tristan gestured to Aria's "sleeping" body, "This is..." Before he could say anything, Aria lifted her head off of his shoulder and turned her head towards Caleb, extending her own hand for him, much to the surprise of Caleb.

"Aria. Aria Montgomery."

* * *

><p>"So, Ezra landed an hour ago and he's making his way to the hotel. I don't think he's coming over here tonight or tomorrow, so we have time to prepare Aria before he shows up on Christmas Eve," Spencer said, slipping her phone into her pocket and turning to the girls.<p>

"We may have a problem," Emily said, ending her own call and facing Spencer and Hanna. "Aria just landed, her flight came in an hour ahead of schedule somehow."

"What are we still standing around here for, then? Aria's parents are out, let's go pick her up," Hanna said, grabbing her purse and making her way towards the door.

"Wait, what's the problem?" Spencer asked, pulling on her coat and taking out the keys to her car from her pocket.

"Aria brought Tristan with her. He's staying here the entire two weeks."

"Crap, this is not good," Hanna said, biting her lip.

"No, it's definitely not," Emily agreed.

Spencer handed Emily her coat and opened the front door of the Montgomery's house, "Look, let's just go pick Aria and Tristan up from the airport, and we can figure out what we're going to do on the way there."

"Well, one thing's for sure, this New Year's party is definitely going to blow all the other parties out of the water. That is, if Ezra and Tristan can _make it_ to New Year's," Hanna said brightly, opening the door to Spencer's car and sliding into the backseat.

"Hanna..." Spencer warned, glaring at her in the rearview mirror.

"What? I was just speaking the truth!" Hanna said defensively. Spencer shook her head, and the three girls began to make their way to the airport, not knowing what exactly the next two weeks had in store for them.

* * *

><p>"It was good seeing you again, make sure you drop by my house on Christmas Eve, okay? I'm sure everyone would love to see you again, Hanna especially," Aria said, giving Caleb a hug in the middle of the baggage claim area.<p>

"Aria, the whole point of me coming out to Rosewood was to _see_ Hanna. Don't worry, I'll definitely be there on Christmas Eve," Caleb replied, returning her hug. They pulled apart after a few moments and Caleb turned to Tristan, "It was nice meeting you. Sorry again for dropping my life story on you," Caleb said with a smirk, extending his hand for another handshake.

"Like I said, it was no problem at all. Don't worry about it," Tristan said with a laugh.

"I should probably get going. I know the girls are probably coming to pick you up, and I'd think it was better if they didn't see me just yet," Caleb said, pointing towards the door.

"That's probably a good idea. I'll see you soon," Aria said with a smile.

"See you soon," Caleb repeated, giving them one last wave, walking towards the door and out into the cold night.

Aria and Tristan made their way over to the seats near the entrance, waiting for Spencer, Emily and Hanna to arrive. "So, I was thinking, why don't you go with the girls to your house, and I'll stay at the hotel tonight. It'll give you time to catch up without you having to worry about me feeling left out," Tristan said.

"Are you sure about that? I mean, I wouldn't want you to be alone on your first night here. I'm sure the girls are dying to met you, anyway."

"Don't worry about me, I have some things for the paper that I need to finish up, anyway. I'll just work on that stuff at the hotel tonight, and I'll come over to your parents' house first thing tomorrow morning."

"_Aria_!" Aria heard three girls screaming out her name in unison, and as soon as she stood up and turned towards where the sound was coming from, she was enveloped in a massive group hug.

"I missed you guys!" Aria laughed, hugging her three best friends as tightly as she could. After a few more moments of squealing and hugging, they all pulled away. Aria reached out her right hand behind her and pulled Tristan to the girls, her hand easily slipping around his waist, his hand wrapping around her shoulders. "Guys, this is Tristan. Tristan, this is Emily, Spencer and Hanna, my best friends."

Tristan shook hands with each of the girls, flashing them a megawatt smile, but never once letting go of his grip on Aria. "It's nice to finally meet you all, Aria's told me so much about you."

"All good things, I hope," Hanna said.

"Definitely good things," Tristan affirmed. He looked down at Aria and squeezed her shoulders, "I should probably get going. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Call me later?"

"You're not coming to the house with us tonight?" Spencer asked.

"Not tonight, I need to get some things settled with the office, so I figured I'd check into a hotel for the night. And besides, I wouldn't want your fun tonight to be spoiled by me. I'll drop by in the morning."

Aria saw as Hanna nudged Emily, who in turn nudged Spencer. They had all finally noticed the ring on her left finger and were now staring at it intently. "That's very considerate of you, Tristan," Emily, the only person in the group who was able to pry her eyes away, spoke.

"You should get going. I'll call you tonight, promise," Aria said, deserate to get him out of there. She knew that if he didn't get out of there now, he was going to witness a big blowout, and she definitely did not want him seeing that.

Tristan nodded and leaned towards Aria, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "It was nice meeting you all," Tristan said, smiling at the girls again removing his arm from Aria's shoulders. Aria watched as he walked away from the group and out the main doors, quickly hailing and cab and loading his suitcase into the trunk before getting in and driving off to the hotel.

As soon as he left, Aria wrapped her arms around herself, preparing for the backlash. And it didn't disappoint.

"_What the hell?_"

"_You're freaking _engaged?"

"_Damn! He has good taste in jewelry!"_

"Guys, can we not do this here right now? I promise I'll explain everything, let's just get out of here first," Aria pleaded, looking at the crowd that was now watching them.

Spencer took Aria's suitcase, Emily took Aria's laptop bag and Hanna laced her arm through Aria's, leading her out the doors and towards Spencer's parked car. "Told you going to dinner was going to be a good idea," Hanna called over her shoulder to Spencer and Emily.

"It's a good thing Tristan left, because we definitely have a lot to catch up on," Aria agreed, wondering what she had gotten herself into. This was going to be a long two weeks.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, I know some of you aren't happy with the new twists that came in this chapter, but trust me on this, I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm a sucker for happy endings, and I hate clichéd story lines, so hopefully that'll give you all some comfort.  
>But, honestly, trust me. Since when has anything in this story turned out the way it seems in the beginning? :)<strong>

**Thanks again for reading, and please review. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of writing again, so hopefully it won't be too long before the next update. Reviews help motivate me to write, just sayin'.  
>And I do plan on responding to the reviews from the last chapter somehow, if I can find a way to without wearing you guys down with another ridiculously long AN. Haha. **

**-J **


	12. And the Truth Comes Out

**A/N: So, I know I said I would be posting more often after that last chapter, but I have a good reason as to why it's taken me so long to update: I've decided that I'm going to go on a posting spree. Starting next week, on Tuesday I hope, I'm going to be posting a new chapter every weekday, leading to a two-part epilogue that will be up the weekend after next.**

**Yes, that's right, this fanfic is coming to an end. After this chapter, there are only four more left, not including the two-part epilogue. Which is why, in honor of the end of my first Pretty Little Liars fanfic, I've decided to issue you all a fun challenge. Details are at the end of this chapter.**

**Speaking of which, as an incentive, I've decided to start my finale countdown with the chapter you've all been waiting for, the chapter in which Aria explains everything. This was originally meant to be posted on Monday, but I couldn't wait, so I had to post it today. Hope you guys enjoy! **

**Please remember to review. I thank each and every one of the reviewers and readers, even the silent ones, from the bottom of my heart. It truly means a lot to me. No joke. Haha. :)**

**- J**

**Disclaimer: I just realized that I've been forgetting my disclaimers lately. Anyway, I own absolutely nothing, except for Tristan.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve- "And the Truth Comes Out"<strong>

Spencer pulled her small Toyota SUV up to the curb in front of The Grille much to quickly for Aria's taste. Throughout the entire twenty minute drive from the airport, Hanna had not shut up for one minute about Aria's ring, Aria's surprise wedding, Aria's something-or-another, and it was starting to annoy her, if only because Hanna's voice kept piercing through her thoughts. Which, at that moment, was not a good thing, considering Aria was trying to determine what she should tell the girls- the truth, or "_the truth_".

Two minutes later and they were inside the restaurant being ushered to a table in a private room, conveniently the only table available, away from the chaos of the main room.

"Okay, so, out with it! Tell us everything!" Hanna squealed, grabbing a hold of Aria's left hand and twisting it every which way, admiring the ring.

"Nice to know you're so enthusiastic about this whole situation," Aria grumbled, and yet, not quite able to keep the small smile from creeping onto her face. She was happy to know that no matter who it was that she married, Ezra or not, Hanna would approve of the guy- provided he had great taste in jewelry.

"Hanna, chill out. We haven't even sat down, let the girl catch her breath," Spencer muttered, draping her purse and coat over the back of her chair. They all took their seats, the waitress handing them their menus and taking drink orders.

As soon as the waitress dropped off their drinks and left them to their privacy, Hanna launched into a full speed inquisition. "Tell us everything! Where did you guys met, where did he take you on your first date, how did he propose? Oh! You _have _to let me design your wedding dress! Where are you getting married? _When_ are you getting married?"

"Hanna," Emily said, shooting Hanna a pointed look.

Hanna bit her lips, "Right, sorry, got a little carried away there."

"A little?" Aria asked incredulously.

"Hey! What do you expect? You're the first one of us to get engaged, I have a lot of questions. And besides, it's not as if you've kept us updated on your life over the last few weeks," Hanna replied, laying on the guilt thickly.

"I've kept you updated! I've been emailing, texting and calling..." She let her voice drift off as she saw the looks on her friends' faces.

It was true, she hadn't been able to keep them updated on anything lately. She had gotten so caught up in the rush of a new job, of a new home, of a new state that she had inadvertently left behind all of those who mattered most to her. But that's what this vacation was going to be about, getting back in touch with roots and rebuilding her relationships with the loved ones she had cast aside over the past couple of months.

"Okay," she amended, "so I haven't exactly kept you up to date with everything going on in my life. But, I promise, I'll make up for it this vacation."

Hanna opened her mouth and Aria spoke quickly with a laugh, prompting Hanna to close her mouth, "Starting with the story about Tristan and I." She opened her menu and pointed a finger at Hanna, whose mouth was open again and ready to attack her with questions, "Let's order first. I'm starving and we have all night to catch up."

She watched as all the girls nodded and followed her lead, opening up their menus and flicking their eyes over the pages. For the first time in the longest time, Aria was glad for the silence, it would give her time to formulate her story.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, it was a busy night after all, they had placed their orders, and Aria had finally decided what she was going to do. What she <em>had<em> to do.

There was absolutely no way that she could deliberately lie to these girls. After the whole "A" fiasco back in high school, they had made a vow to always be honest with each other, no matter the circumstances, no matter the consequences. It was the main reason as to why they were such good friends; communication, trust and honesty were the building blocks to their relationship.

As was privacy. Along with the promise to always remain honest with each other, they also made the promise to keep their secrets safe. Anything that they admitted within the confines of their group, whether or not they were told to keep whatever was being said a secret, was to remain a secret. They would never spill each others' secrets just to spite one another or for the sake of telling, everything remained safe within their group. They were the exception to the "Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead" rule. The four of them definitely knew how to keep their secrets.

Aria took a deep breath and causally took a sip of her red wine. She figured, since she wasn't driving, that she was entitled to a small bit of alcohol. God knew she was going to need it once she started the conversation. "Okay, one question at a time," she said, her eyes flitting over to Hanna's to give her a knowing look. "But I have one rule, you let me speak without interruptions. If I'm going to answer these questions, I need to answer them without stopping, because if I do, I'm going to lose my nerve and I won't be able to finish. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Good. Fire away."

"Let's start off easy. Why don't you tell us all about Tristan?" Spencer suggested, "Don't leave anything out. We want to know all about him."

Aria was relieved to begin relatively easily. "Well, his name is Tristan Hill and he's the editor-in-chief at the San Francisco Chronicle. He's 28, originally from Massachusetts. He has an older brother named Brendan and a younger sister named Blakely. He comes from old money and lived the typical Society life, meaning his parents often left him and his siblings behind at their estate with butlers and nannies galore.

"His parents never really showed him any sort of approval- a gigantic contrast to his brother and sister, who they were always fawning over. As a way to try and gain his parents' attention, he often worked hard in school in order, channeling all of his emotions into his work.

"In the end, his hard work paid off; he was accelerated quickly throughout school, graduating high school at 14. From there, he got double bachelor's degrees in journalism and psychology from UCLA, his master's from Berkeley and his Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard. Since he was only 24 and most people his age were still getting their graduate degrees, he decided to go to Palo Alto and attended Stanford to get his master's in journalism as a way to socialize with people his own age. While he was up there, he realized how much he loved Northern California that that was where he wanted live and start his career.

"Flash forward two years, and he's worked his way up through the ranks at the Chronicle and is the youngest editor-in-chief they've ever had at the age of 28," Aria finished with a deep breath. She looked around the table and saw them all with their eyes wide and their mouths slightly open. Even Spencer, the overachiever who wasn't impressed by anything, was rendered speechless. It wasn't really a surprise, he had truly achieved more than anyone twice his age could ever aspire to reach. And yet, he was also humble, never wanting to ever speak of his achievements. It was one of the things that both annoyed and endeared Aria to him.

Once they regained their composure, the questions began up again. "How did you and Tristan meet?" Aria was slightly taken aback by the fact that it wasn't Hanna to ask the first real question, it was Emily. To Aria, it could only mean that Hanna was waiting for the right time to launch a difficult question at her.

"If you remember, Tristan was the guy who called me up the night of Hanna's store launch and offered me the job at The Chronicle. When I arrived in San Francisco, he was the one who personally came to pick me up from the airport, helped me settle into my new house and showed me the ropes at the newspaper."

Hanna finally asked her question, "How did you guys get to be so close? When did you start dating?" Well, at least it wasn't as difficult as Aria was expecting.

"Like I said, he was the one who basically helped me to get acclimated to San Francisco life. In the beginning, he was just helping me get moved in and settled, he showed me the ins and outs of the newspaper business and introduced me to people. When we first started hanging out together, it was always with a group of our mutual friends from the paper.

"After about a week or so, I noticed that we started going out more and more by ourselves. I guess you could say that's when we started 'going out'. He would bring me coffee in the mornings, we would go out for lunch in the afternoons, then in the evenings we would go out for dinner at our favorite diner, and afterwards we'd scour the nearby bookstores for new novels. He started opening up to me about the stress of his family and how he always felt inadequate, while I told him all about you guys and our lives in New York. I would even tell him about Ezra and the problems that we're having to overcome right now.

"He was so supportive and always listened to anything I had to say. He never judged. I guess the reason why I was so drawn to him int he first place was because he reminded me so much of you three rolled into one. He's intelligent and confident like Spencer, loyal and in tune with his emotions like Emily, while also being fashionable and impulsive like Hanna. He is basically the guy version of you all."

"So how did he propose?" Hanna asked once Aria was finished speaking. So much for Hanna not asking the difficult question.

Luckily at that moment, their food arrived, giving Aria a chance to catch her breath and reorganize her thoughts. However, once the food was placed in front of them and the waitress was gone, all three girls looked at her expectantly.

Aria took a large gulp of her wine, she knew that the secrets would start pouring out soon, and she wanted as much alcohol as she could possibly have, while still being able to speak and think coherently, in her body.

"Well, he didn't exactly propose, per se..." she began.

"Isn't that an engagement ring on your finger, though?" Emily asked.

Aria strained to look anywhere besides at the girls in front of her, but it was no use, Spencer had caught her eye and refused to let her look away. "It's not an engagement ring, is it?" she asked slowly. Aria shook her head.

"It's a _wedding _ring?" Hanna yelled so loudly that Aria swore the main room outside went silent.

"Yes," she answered quietly.

Spencer put her fork and steak knife down, "Okay, now you really have to tell us the entire story. How could you just get married out of nowhere to a guy you barely even know?"

"More importantly, how could you get married without having us there? Let alone not even tell us until now!" Emily exclaimed.

"I wanted to tell you guys, but it all happened so quickly that I didn't get to really tell anyone what happened." Aria drained the rest of her wine in her glass and took a deep breath, leaning back into her chair. It was going to be a long story.

"We had just covered a huge breaking story, front page news, an expose on a government injustice they had been researching for months, and all of the lead reporters worked for the last two weeks straight on it. Once we finished and had it successfully sent to the printers, we decided that we were entitled to a weekend off. So me, Tristan and the rest of the lead reporters left the paper in the hands of the staff writers for a weekend and set off for Vegas.

"We drank, gambled, shopped, went out to a club or two, just letting off a little steam. We had worked so hard, and that weekend was our chance to have a little fun. Anyway, on our last night there, we all went out for drinks at one of the casinos on the Strip, which one it was, I don't even remember. Long story short, we all ended up having a little _too_ _much_ to drink. Me especially, because that was the weekend right after that blowout I had with Ezra, and I was trying to forget all about what happened between us, even if it was just for that night."

She placed her elbows on the table and leaned her head into her hands, not wanting to see their reactions when she revealed what she was about to say. "I woke up the next morning in the honeymoon suite of Caesar's Palace with Tristan in the bed next to me, his family's heirloom on my left ring finger, and absolutely no recollection of what had happened the night before. We called our friends, but none of them remember what happened, only that around 3 in the morning, we left the group saying something about wanting to 'make things official'.

"Tristan immediately hired the best lawyers and investigators to figure out what had happened, because we didn't have a single piece of evidence saying whether we were married or not. We found out this morning before we left my house that it was official, we were married," Aria paused, lifting her head up to meet the glances of her best friends. But she wasn't finished yet. "At least, that's the story we're sticking with."

"What do you mean that's the story you're sticking with? It's not the truth?" Spencer asked, cocking an eyebrow. She had leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms across her chest, blatantly showing her disapproval of Aria acting so irresponsibly.

"Not exactly."

"Well go on, then. Tell us the rest of the story!" Hanna replied excitedly, leaning forward on the table, eyes sparkling the way they always did when she heard a juicy new tidbit of gossip.

Emily, who had been sitting straight up in her seat, unable to stop fidgeting, elbowed Hanna. "Aria, you only have to tell us if you want to. Your secret is safe with us."

It was now or never. She had to make up her mind, was she going to tell them or not? She took a shaky breath to steady herself before launching into the real truth. "In essence, everything I've told you so far is true. But that's not all there is to it. There's more. A lot more. And in order to understand the rest of the story, you have to know what happened from the very beginning.

"When I first arrived in San Francisco, I automatically felt a connection with Tristan. And, like I said, he helped me settle down, introduced me to new friends, took me out after work with our co-workers to help make my transition to San Fran life that much easier. A week after I moved there, we did start going out more and more by ourselves, but there was a reason for that."

Aria remembered with such clarity the day her relationship with Tristan changed. It was the day after she had received Ezra's autographed first edition copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_ in the mail, and she initiated a video chat with him, intending to chew him out for sending her such a priceless gift through the mail without so much as First Class or Certified stamp on it. She laughed lightly, remembering the nonchalance he treated it with, not understanding the gravity of leaving a $25,000 book on her front porch.

"I was video chatting with Ezra that morning, talking about the package he sent me that I had received the night before. We were talking, then Tristan walked in, asking if I could meet him in his office before going out to lunch. I thought it was weird because we had plans to go out to lunch together that day, so I assumed that that was just his way of telling me that he wouldn't be able to go on break together, but there was something else in his eyes that told me there was more than he was letting on. I guess Ezra must have noticed my apprehension, because he told me to go ahead and talk to him, and that we would talk again soon.

"I disconnected from Ezra and asked him what he needed to talk about, and, I remember, he looked so nervous. He kept trying to dodge the question, but he finally let something slip, saying he had something he had been meaning to tell me ever since I started working at the Chronicle."

_"So, what did you need to talk about?" Aria asked after she disconnected her conversation from Ezra. She motioned for Tristan to sit down in the chair in front of her desk._

_"It wasn't anything, really," he said, twiddling his thumbs, obviously attempting to buy time. "It's just, I have something I've been meaning to tell you ever since you started here."_

"It kind of scared me, since he wasn't telling me what was wrong. He was acting so differently than the way he usually was. Whenever I would see him, he was always so confident, he never let any situation get the better of him. But that day, I knew something was up. I could see it in his eyes that he was struggling to find the right thing to say; that he didn't know whether he should even be telling me what he wanted to tell me."

_"What is it?" Aria asked, thoughts fluctuating between anxious and concern. He looked so nervous, a side of him she had never seen. Granted, she had only known him for a little over a week, but that was besides the point, he was always debonair and charming, while also calm enough to handle any situation. It unnerved her seeing him so worked up._

_"I'm sure you've noticed by now the way I act around you. No one here in the office really knows the real reason why, and I know they all have their suspicions. Which is why I decided to come to you directly, before they attacked you with their hypotheses."_

_"Tristan, you know you can tell me anything."_

_"I know, it's just, I don't want this to jeopardize our work area. I would hate for things to get awkward around here, especially since I love working with you."_

"He told me that people around our office had been talking about the way he acted around me. It wasn't that I didn't notice it before, it was obvious that he acted differently around me than everyone else. Whenever he was at the office, he was always friendly, but he was also cautious, like there was a guard he put up that even his best friends couldn't break down. But when I arrived, I could see that he was automatically at ease around me. He looked comfortable whenever I was around. I was happy that he had allowed me to be the one person who he allowed to see past the façade he put up.

"But I was scared for what he was going to say. I didn't want anything he said to jeopardize our friendship, because it was something special. Even just a week in, I could see that it could be one of those friendships that last a lifetime. As long as he didn't say anything to ruin it."

_"Tristan, please, just spit it out. You've got to tell me now, before I assume the worst," Aria said, terrified that her voice would give away the fact that she was scared to hear what he was going to say._

_She watched as he took a breath and opened his mouth. "Aria, I…"_

"I almost wanted to stop him before he said anything. I was terrified he was going to say something like, 'Aria, I love you,' and although, I'll admit, he's really attractive and sweet and I found myself growing more and more attracted to him, I knew we could never be more than friends. I couldn't do that to Ezra, because I'm still in love with him and I wanted to eventually work things out with him, but on the other hand, I couldn't bring myself to break Tristan's heart, either."

Aria laughed, "Which is why I was so relieved when he finally finished his sentence. I almost cried because I was so happy."

"What did he say?" Emily asked. Aria had been caught up in telling the story that she hadn't noticed that they all had inadvertently moved forwards, arms on the table, heads leaned in, creating a small space around the table.

"He told me he was gay."

"He told you he was _WHAT?" _was the resounding, screeching response all around.

Aria slouched back into her seat, laughing at their reaction. "That's exactly what I said. I couldn't believe it. I thought stuff like this, the whole "girl leaves behind the love of her life to pursue her dreams in a different city across the country, meets a new guy who challenges her to see things from a whole new perspective, making the girl feel guilty for feeling attracted to this guy, only to figure out that the guy is gay" plot line, only happened in bad TV shows. But no, it turns out it's the story of my life."

"So, wait, now you're married to your gay best friend?" Hanna asked, twirling a fork into her cold chicken fettucini alfredo and ate it. It was then that Aria realized that their food was getting cold and no one, besides Hanna, had taken a bite yet.

"Why don't we eat first, and I'll explain the rest over dessert? I think we need a break," Aria replied, flaking off a piece of salmon and popping it into her mouth. She needed a little time to regain her confidence. And time to text Tristan to warn him that she was straying from their deal- she was telling Spencer, Hanna and Emily everything.

* * *

><p>"Am I the only one that finds this kind of ironic?" Emily asked after the waitress had dropped off four slices of their famous cake, a moist, five layer chocolate mousse cake with three different types of chocolate, topped with a dark chocolate ganache, and four espressos.<p>

"It is, isn't it?" Aria said, spearing a piece of cake with her fork and eating it, letting the flavors melt in her mouth. "I mean, when we were in Rosewood right before I moved to San Fran, we stopped and ate dinner here, then grabbed chocolate cake and espresso to bring back to my house for a sleepover, where Tristan called for the first time, offering me a job. And now I'm here from San Fran and we're back again, eating chocolate cake and drinking espressos while discussing Tristan."

"Speaking of Tristan, I think you should get back to the story," Hanna said.

"Nice transition, Han," Spencer muttered.

"What? Aria said she would finish over dessert, and our dessert is here, so I think she should finish!" She countered, eyes wide with false innocence.

"No, she's right, I promised that I would explain the rest of the story over dessert, so that's what I'm going to do." Aria didn't miss the look of triumph Hanna shot Spencer.

She began slowly, because it was at this point that everything was going to get complicated. "A few days after he told me he was gay, over dinner he asked me for a favor. And that's kind of when everything started."

_"Aria, we're friends, right?" Tristan asked out of the blue. He and Aria had finished up another long day at the paper and were relaxing over burgers, fries and milkshakes from their favorite diner across the street._

_"Of course! Why would you asking a question like that?" Aria asked. She watched as a flash of some emotion she couldn't really decipher cross his eyes. _

_"Can I ask you for a favor?" He asked, reaching across the booth to take a hold of her hand. _

_She furrowed her brows. Where was he going with this? "Um, sure. Shoot," she said, although she knew she probably shouldn't have. This wasn't going to end well._

_He looked deep into her eyes, his gaze still holding that unknown emotion. "Would you be my girlfriend?"_

_Aria searched his face, trying to find something that would determine if this was some kind of joke, but couldn't find anything. She pulled her hand away from his and tucked her hair behind her ear, chuckling nervously. "Of course I'll go steady with you, but only if you give me your letterman's jacket and promise to propose to me with your class ring," she replied, a horrible attempt at diffusing the tension that had developed in the air between them._

_"Aria, I'm not joking. Will you please just go out with me?" he asked again. It was then that Aria realized the emotion behind his eyes. Desperation. _

_She took a hold of his hand in hers once more, "Tristan, I can't do that. You're gay, remember?" For a split second, she was worried that he had lied to her, that he really wasn't gay._

_"But we're really good friends. We have a connection that I've never felt with anyone else. I've known you two weeks, and I already love you. Maybe if we went out on a couple of dates, we could fall in love." He was pleading with her._

_"Tris, you can't force yourself to fall in love with someone that's not right for you. I do love you, as a brother. And I don't doubt that you love me, but you love me as a sister, as a best friend. You could never fall in love with me, because I'm not the right person for you. You deserve to find yourself a great guy who accepts you for who you are; don't try to change yourself into someone you're not, just because you think people will like you more."_

_The look in his eyes broke Aria's heart. For the first time in the few days that she had known him, he completely let his guard down and opened himself up to her. For the first time, he was completely vulnerable. "You're the only one that knows."_

_Aria was taken aback. "I'm the only one that knows you're gay?" He nodded slowly. She began connecting the dots in her head, "This isn't just about you being insecure with who you are, is it? People at the paper are starting to get suspicious about you, so you want me to be your girlfriend to throw them off your track."_

_His eyes grew wide, "No! That's not it at all. I will admit that the thought of you pretending to be my girlfriend has crossed my mind before, but I could never ask you to do that. It wouldn't be right to you."_

_"I'll do it," Aria said after a moment, surprising even herself. _

_"What?"_

_"I'll pretend to be your girlfriend." She couldn't believe what she was saying. "You said it yourself, people around the paper have been suspicious about us, we already go out all the time, why not?"_

_"Aria, I can't ask you to do that."_

_"You're not asking, I'm offering."_

_"But what if someone from New York hears? What if Ezra finds out? I know you really want to make things work out with him."_

_That deterred Aria for a moment. What if someone found out? What would Ezra say if word somehow got to him that she was 'dating' Tristan? She desperately wanted to make things right between them, but at the same time, she wanted to be able to help out Tristan. She needed a compromise._

"How about if we never actually make things official? We'll keep going out for coffee, for dinner, acting like we do right now, keep our Facebook relationship statuses as 'single', except we turn it up a tiny bit. When people at the paper ask, we keep coy and say we're just friends. That way if word somehow gets back east, we can truthfully say we are just friends. We never said we were anything more, they all just assumed."

_Tristan looked at Aria closely, "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_"I'm in if you are," she replied, eyes locked on his, proving she wasn't wavering._

_"Deal."_

"After our deal, something changed. Suddenly everyone wanted to know if we were going out, how long we had been seeing each other, how serious it was. But, per our deal, we kept quiet, saying we were just friends, which was the truth. But it worked out well, because no one believed that we could just be really good friends, and no one questioned why Tristan didn't ever have a girlfriend. Except it kind of changed the weekend we went to Las Vegas.

"Everything happened just like I said, including the drunken wedding and waking up in the same bed the next morning. When we called our friends asking what had happened, all they could do was offer their congratulations, since it was obvious what we had done, even if we didn't say anything that would lead them to think about it. The plan was going better than we had planned, which was not a good thing.

"Tristan called his investigators and lawyers after we made the calls to our friends, and this is where the truth diverges from what I originally told you guys. The morning that we left my house, we discovered that we hadn't gotten married. In fact, a couple witnesses they had managed to track down said they saw us check into Caesar's Palace and go straight up to our room; we didn't even make it to the chapel.

"We were both relieved, because neither one of us wanted to have to deal with the consequences of a stupid mistake like that. I figured it was a sign that this deal wasn't going to work out, so as I was going to tell Tristan, he dropped a bombshell on me."

_"Tristan, I don't think we should go through this whole 'me-pretending-to-be-your-girlfriend' thing. Our wedding was a pretty big scare, and it made me realize that we should probably stop now, before anyone really gets hurt," Aria said after Tristan's towncar pulled up to her house and her luggage was in the trunk. They were, at that moment, speeding down the freeway towards San Francisco International Airport._

_"We can't," Tristan said simply, looking out the window, refusing to look at Aria._

_She furrowed her brows, "And why not?"_

_"Because my parents somehow found out about our 'wedding'. They called me this morning, said that they were proud that I grew up, took the next step in my life and settled down."_

_Aria placed her hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her, a pained look on his face. "Tristan," she began. She knew that his parents were a sore topic for them to discuss._

_"They said they were _proud_, Aria. They took time out of their vacation to actually _call_ me and _tell_ me they were proud. They've never done that before." Aria was silent, she knew where this was going. _

_"I can't break it off with you. My parents would be so disappointed. I am so sorry for dragging you into this," he apologized._

_She cracked a smile, albeit slightly tense, "It's okay. I shouldn't have suggested it in the first place. It's my fault."_

_"No, it's mine, I shouldn't have agreed." They sat in silence until they reached the airport, fully immersed in their own thoughts._

"We decided that we would keep pretending that we got married while drunk in Las Vegas, at least for now, until we can figure out how to get out of this whole mess," Aria finished.

"Wow," Emily breathed.

"Yeah, you can say that again," Aria said. She saw Spencer open her mouth, but then close it again, as if saying what was on her mind was going against her better judgement. "Spit it out, Spence."

Spencer took a deep breath, "So, you're going to keep pretending you're married? What about your parents?"

"I have to keep the pretense up. We can't risk something slipping. I wasn't even supposed to tell you guys, but I can't keep secrets from you, we made a pact all those years back."

"Oh, crap," Hanna said, catching on to what Spencer was thinking.

"Seriously," Emily agreed.

Aria could tell she was missing something, "Wait, what's going on?"

"You wanna be the one to tell her, Spencer? It was your idea, anyway," Hanna suggested, glad she wasn't going to be the one to have to break the news.

"Tell me what, Spencer? What's going on?" Aria repeated.

"I, um, I kind of invited Ezra to spend the holidays here in Rosewood with us. He got here two hours before you did, and he's surprising you on Christmas Eve," Spencer said quickly, hoping Aria wouldn't blow up at her. Surprisingly, it wasn't nearly as explosive as she thought it would be; Aria only muttered three words.

"Holy freakin' crap."

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><p><strong>AN: So, the challenges. :)**

**The first: Right now, my average number of reviews per chapter is basically ten, with the record number of reviews on one chapter being seventeen. It would be incredible if you guys could surpass that record. If I get at least twenty reviews per chapter before the epilogue, I will move the day the each part of the epilogue is to be posted. In my head, I have it planned for Saturday and Sunday of the weekend after next. For example, at least twenty reviews on this chapter, and Part One will be posted on Friday of the week after next****, with Part Two following on Saturday. Twenty on the chapter afterwards, and they move to Thursday and Friday. Hopefully that makes as much sense in words as it does in my head. I know it's a lot to ask, but hey, why not give it a shot? Haha.**

**The second: As it stands at this moment, there are one hundred and ten reviews for the eleven chapters I've posted so far. Including this chapter, but not including the epilogue, there are going to be five more chapters in total. I would absolutely love to see this story surpass the two hundred review mark. If this story passes that mark before not Monday this week but next, the earliest day part one of the epilogue can be posted, parts one**_** and**_** two will be posted on the same day.**

**Like I said, it's a lot to ask. That's exactly why it's a 'challenge'. It's all in good fun, though, I just want to see if it can be done. I promise, nothing will interfere with my posting of the new chapters next week, meaning if you don't get the twenty reviews for a chapter, it's not going to delay the next one and it's not going to push back the day the epilogue is going to be posted; these challenges are only meant to speed up the time in which you get the epilogue, not slow it down.**

**So, spread the word! Tell your friends, your friends' friends, your friends' friends' friends, get everyone to review! I would love this story to end with a bang, but in order to do that, I'll need your help. Don't forget to review, and I absolutely thank you all so much for your continued support. It's you guys that keep me writing. :)**


	13. Stolen Glances, Secrets & Mistletoe

**A/N: So, I've decided to totally disregard the twenty reviews per chapter thing, only because I realized that the three month anniversary coincides with the week that I'm set to end this. Meaning, I'm going to be ending this on the 14th. BUT, the second challenge still stands. As it's set right now, I'm planning on part one being posted on Tuesday with part two being posted on Wednesday, unless you guys can get this to two hundred reviews before then, where they'll both be posted on Wednesday. And trust me, you'll want to read them both on the same day, one right after the other. You guys are at 127, and there's still four more chapters to go, I know you can all do it. :)**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews I've gotten and I'm so sorry that this chapter is kind of late. Things got hectic around here, so I couldn't find time to update until now. Keep reviewing and enjoy! **

**P.S: Because things got so chaotic and I wanted to get this out there as soon as possible, I didn't have time to proofread it. Please excuse any mistakes, I'm going to go back later to proofread and edit. And there will be another chapter today, Wednesday. Hopefully it won't be up as late as this was. Haha. - J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing besides Tristan. Well, and the ideas and words, but that's besides the point. Haha.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen- "Stolen Glances, Secrets, Musings and Mistletoe"<strong>

Aria had woken up two hours ago, padding downstairs to have breakfast with Mike and her parents. She took her time, catching up with her family, excited at the prospect of spending a quiet Christmas Eve morning with them before the chaos that was known as the Montgomery Christmas Eve dinner began tonight. But, that idea was shattered by Hanna calling her right before she was going to snuggle back into her bed. It wasn't the first time she had called, it was actually the seventh, but Aria held off on answering because she knew the second she did, her plans were going out the window.

Apparently, she had decided that the four of them were going to go last minute dress shopping for the Montgomery Christmas Eve dinner. Hanna firmly believed that shopping for an dress right before an event ensured a perfect fit, since you didn't have to worry about losing weight to fit into the dress beforehand, _and_ there would be less chances for someone to show up in the same dress, since there would be new stock in by that time. Aria couldn't argue with Hanna, since that was essentially a lost cause, and also because, in some strange roundabout way, she could see her logic.

After Aria hung up with Hanna, she slowly made her way upstairs, depressed that all hopes for her relaxing morning were quickly dashed. While she searched for her favorite tights, her phone had rung again, causing her to groan. "Hanna, I swear, if you want me to get dressed and go shopping with you, you have _got _to stop calling me!" she exclaimed into the phone, not bothering to check who the caller actually was.

"Well, good morning to you, too!" Tristan chuckled. Aria looked at the phone, no, definitely not Hanna.

"Oops, sorry. Hanna's been calling me multiple times this morning, begging me to go shopping with her."

"I can see how that'd be a pain. Although, isn't this what you wanted? To be able to spend a little girl time, shopping with your best friends?"

"And I have absolutely no idea what I was thinking," Aria quipped, walking to her closet, finally locating her favorite tights at the bottom of her luggage, and flipped through the dresses she had brought along for the vacation.

"Oh come on, that's not true. You know you love them," he said. Aria could hear him typing away on his laptop in the background.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I want to go shopping with them early morning on Christmas Eve," she replied, pulling dark maroon dress with a pleated skirt and cinching ribbon tied around the waist, the perfect color for Christmas. "Besides, all they're going to do, all they've been doing ever since they heard the story and got over the initial shock of it all, is bombard me with questions about you. Hanna's been pestering me, asking if you have a brother. I've had to firmly tell her multiple times that you do have a brother, but he also has a fiancee."

"And how did she take that?"

"Not very well, obviously. But it's for the best, she's going to meet the love of her life tonight," Aria said, gripping the phone with her shoulder and holding up the dress in front of her to appraise the outfit in the mirror. "By the way, you promise you'll actually be here tonight? My parents keep bugging me, asking when the elusive Tristan is going to be making an appearance. They're starting to believe you don't exist," Aria teased with a laugh.

She listened as Tristan groaned, "I'm sorry, it's just that there was a mix-up with a few of the sources on our front page story this morning. I had to find a way fix things before they sent out a story that was supposed to be about the education riots at Berkeley and Stanford yesterday with quotes that were originally for the editorial on the influence of Harry Potter on today's generation, almost ten years later."

"Because you definitely wouldn't want the readers to think that the students used the _Imperio_ spell on the administrators to get their way."

"Absolutely not," Tristan agreed. "But don't worry, I got everything fixed so I'll definitely be free for the next couple of days. Especially for your dinner tonight."

"Good, you better be," Aria said with a laugh. She checked the time on her watch, surprised to see that she only had half an hour until Spencer was due to pick her up. "Crap, I have to go get ready. I'll see you later tonight, though."

"Definitely. I'll see you then," Tristan agreed. Aria hung up the phone and thought about the dinner tonight, causing butterflies to begin fluttering around in her stomach. A foreboding sense came over her; something was going to happen tonight, and, from the feeling she was getting, it was not going to turn out well.

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><p>"So, where exactly are we going?" Spencer asked Hanna, who was currently driving her Toyota SUV, while reaching over and lightly turning the steering wheel. "Move a little more to the left, you're going to take the side mirrors of the cars parked on the curb."<p>

"Spencer, I know how to drive!" Hanna exclaimed, swatting away Spencer's hand.

"Could've fooled me," Emily muttered to Aria, who was sitting next to her in the backseat. Aria laughed in response.

"I heard that!" Hanna called, glaring at them in the rearview mirror.

Emily did have a point, it didn't seem like Hanna knew how to drive a car. Aria chalked up the fact that Hanna had to ask Spencer which pedal was the brake and which one was the gas on the fact that they never did any driving in New York; everywhere that was worth going to was only a short walk, subway ride or taxi drive away. But then again, Aria never remembered one instance where Hanna drove around Rosewood.

"Han, you did get your license, right?" Aria asked cautiously.

"I passed Driver's Ed, remember? We were all in the same class," Hanna answered. Aria's eyes widened.

"That doesn't answer the question..." Spencer trailed off. "You don't have your license, do you?"

"Relax! I have my license, I'm just a little rusty when it comes to driving."

"But-"

"NO! No buts, I'm driving," Hanna insisted. There was nothing anyone could do anyway, Hanna was already behind the wheel.

Ten tense minutes later, Hanna pulled up, tires squealing, to the front of her store, Je Nais Sais Quoi. "I thought we were going to the mall to shop for dresses, not check on your sales," Spencer remarked.

"Very funny. Keep it up and I'll be driving home," Hanna said, opening her door and walking to the front of the store.

"She wouldn't dare, would she?" Aria whispered to Spencer and Emily.

"God, I hope not," Emily replied.

"I should get the keys from her, just to be safe," Spencer said, jogging to catch up to Hanna, who was already on her way inside. They watched as Spencer took a few steps in and then stopped in her tracks, and quickened their pace to see what had caused her to stop so suddenly. When they reached the door, Emily and Aria paused alongside Spencer, taking in the scene before them.

"Merry Christmas!" Hanna squealed, gesturing to the inside of the store like a The Price Is Right model. "What do you guys think? Do you like it?" she asked, unable to hide the giant grin plastered on her face.

"Like it?" Aria asked, her eyes sweeping around the large, open spaced, three floor room. "Hanna, it's amazing!"

And it truly was. Hanna had transformed her store into the perfect place for the girls to get ready for the dinner for that night. On the first floor, each wall was divided in half and decorated with their name hand painted on the walls, racks and racks of dresses from her new line wound the two opposite sides of the room. The third wall, facing the glass storefront of the building that spanned all three levels, contained strategically placed mirrors big enough for them to each look at their reflections, the roaring fireplace in the center of the mirror wall creating the perfect lighting. In the center on the first floor was a massive, immaculate white leather square cushion, large enough for all four of the girls to lay down and spread out on comfortably. On top, there were platters of chocolate fondue, fruits, chocolate covered strawberries, all the makings for s'mores, a myriad of bite sized desserts and flutes champagne.

Aria looked up to the second floor and saw that there were, once again, three walls covered with their names, but instead of dresses, shoes, coats, shawls and every single type of accessory imaginable were available. The fourth wall was completely mirrored, allowing for them to see how the dresses and accessories matched.

And the third floor? There were four makeup chairs set up specifically for their use, a team of makeup and hair artists on standby for when they were called. Aria spun around, amazed that the glass ceiling and glass storefront that Hanna had insisted upon, although everyone thought it would be a safety hazard, bathed the entire store in natural light and allowed for the girls to look out and see the entire town covered in snow. It was magnificent.

"I can't believe you did this for us," Emily breathed, unable to hide her awe.

"Of course! We've all been through a lot the last few months," Spencer shot Hanna a pointed look, "Okay, the last few _years_," Hanna amended, "and I figured we could all really use a day of pampering. Especially tonight, because it's going to be one crazy night, what with Mr. Fitz and Tristan meeting for the first time." Aria's mouth dropped open. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to let that out that way," Hanna murmured.

"Ezra's coming tonight?" she asked meekly. Spencer nodded slowly.

"Yeah, he called me this morning before we came to pick you up. He said it was going to be a surprise."

Hanna scoffed, "Yeah, some surprise that's going to be." She quickly caught the look of horror on Aria's face and softened, "Look, why don't you just forget about tonight and just have a little fun right now. Drink some champagne, eat a couple chocolate covered strawberries, get your hair and makeup done. Everything will turn out fine."

Aria smiled a shaky smile. After all the trouble Hanna had gone through to do this for them, the least she could do was put on a good face and attempt to have a good time. "Okay, but first, you have to let me try on that emerald green dress over there." Hanna eyes glistened, excited that Aria was at least trying. Aria couldn't help but laugh at her beaming face; the happiness was contagious. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard to have a good time, after all. She walked over and picked up a flute of champagne, taking a small sip. No, it definitely wouldn't be too difficult.

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><p>"Damn it!" Ezra exclaimed, squeezing his pointer finger, drawing a tiny bit of blood. He pushed away the still not yet gift wrapped present to the corner of the table that sat in front of the plasma TV and lifted himself up to sit on the couch. That was only the second present he had attempted to wrap, and yet, he had already gotten his seventh paper cut from the wrapping paper. "I knew I should've just gotten them wrapped at the store," he muttered, placing his head in his hands.<p>

The day before, he had gone scouring for presents for each person he was going to come into contact with that night, determined to make a good impression on everyone, Aria especially. He regretted the way he acted when he talked to, or more accurately, _texted,_ her last week, and he was determined to impress her. On the plane, he had done a lot of thinking, and he came to the conclusion that he needed to get Aria back. He loved her, and there was no way that he was going to let her go without a fight.

Surprisingly, he hadn't gotten to that conclusion on his own, he had the help of an unexpected ally. Jackie.

When he saw her on the plane with the little girl, all curly chocolate brown hair and Fitz family blue eyes, he couldn't help a vision of him and Aria with a daughter like that someday from flashing into his mind. He saw him, Aria and their daughter standing in front of a blue two-story house with a wraparound porch, a large tree in the front yard with a swing and yellow labrador lying down in front of them. He wanted that future.

Jackie had asked if he was seeing someone, and he admitted that he was stuck in the grey area, the area of her daughter, Madeline he found her name to be, fell asleep, she listened to his ramblings and musings, nodding her head whenever appropriate. She didn't make any commentary, didn't change her facial expression, only let him talk and finish what he needed to say. And once he finished, the words she said took him aback.

"Don't let her go."

Those four words rang clearly in his head. He had been unable to shake them ever since she had uttered them. Jackie had made it seem so easy, like it was the solution to absolutely everything. And, in a way, it was. He just couldn't see how it could possibly be that simple.

Everything with Aria had been so ridiculously complicated, he couldn't comprehend how the only way to get her back was so simplistic. Just four words. _Don't. Let. Her. Go._

He shook his head; he needed to get out of this hotel, out of this room. He laced on his tennis shoes and grabbed his winter coat from the closet; it had just begun to snow lightly outside. Making sure his door was locked, he made his way to the lobby and quickly out the door. He stopped in front and looked around, trying to decide where to go. Finally he thought to just let his feet take him to wherever they wanted to go. He had time before the dinner and he knew the streets around here well enough, getting lost in the streets of Rosewood sounded like the perfect solution.

Digging his hands into the pockets of his coat, he set off in the direction his feet took him. Before he let his mind take off, also, he reminded himself that he needed to buy gift bags, because there was absolutely no way he was going to finish wrapping those presents. As he thought this, he passed in front of a glass store building where four girls were sitting on a large white cushion in the center of the first floor, clad in evening gowns and jewelry, drinking champagne and eating s'mores. The girl with brown hair and was wearing a green dress threw her head back, laughing hysterically at something one of the other girls had said. They looked like they were having so much fun, looked so carefree. He wished that, even for that moment in time, he could experience what it was like to be carefree, to not have any thoughts hindering his mind.

He looked away from the girls and kept walking though the snow, letting his thoughts take over.

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><p>"That's it, I'm having you guys model my new line at New York Fashion Week," Hanna said, standing next to Emily, Spencer and Aria in front of the mirrored wall on the first floor. They had all chosen their dresses, their accessories, had gotten their hair and makeup done and were all ready to go. But, after having so much fun together, none of them wanted to leave.<p>

"Thank you again so much for today, I think we all really needed it," Aria said, turning to Hanna and giving her a hug.

"It's no problem at all, you're welcome," she said. She motioned for Emily and Spencer to join in, and before they knew it, their hug was interrupted by the sound of a camera flash. They all looked up to see one of the makeup artists standing five feet away from them holding a professional looking camera.

Hanna cocked an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged sheepishly, "I freelance as a photographer every once in a while. It looked like you were having a moment, so I had to capture it on film." He turned the camera screen towards them and they gathered around to look at the picture he had just snapped.

Aria, in her emerald green dress with a fitted sweetheart neckline bodice and chiffon flowing gracefully from underneath the bottom of the bodice, was to the left of Hanna. Her dark brown hair was curled and pinned up in a complicated twist, only a few strands framing her lightly made up face, her darkly lined hazel eyes shining a little greener than usual due to the color of her dress. He had captured her just as she was laughing, mouth slightly open.

To Aria's left was Spencer, wearing a deep navy blue dress with a plunging neckline and an equally plunging back. Because the dress was so simplistic, the makeup artist went a little heavier on Spencer's makeup, giving her a blue smokey eye and placing false lashes, opening her eyes wider. Her hair was curled lightly and kept semi-tousled, to keep from the look seeming too formal. The photographer had captured her smiling at Hanna, head tilted onto Aria's.

All the way on the other end, on Hanna's right, was Emily. Emily had taken the longest time trying to pick a dress, stuck between a Grecian style dress she had fallen in love with, but couldn't choose between the pale pink color or the bright red. In the end, due to much convincing by the girls, she had chosen the pale pink version, agreeing that it had been less harsh and bold than the red dress. Her hair had also been twisted up into an updo, much like Aria's, and the makeup artist drew just one thick line of black eyeliner over her top lid, framing her eyes with especially long false lashes, and a very rosy cheek. She had her arm thrown around Hanna, her eyes crinkling on the sides from laughing.

In the center was Hanna. She stood in the middle of the group, one arm around Aria, the other out in front of her holding up a glass of champagne, mouth wide open from laughing, her heavily lined blue eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. She was donning a shockingly deep red silk trumpet style dress, every inch of fabric clinging to her curves before flaring out at the bottom. Her blond hair was left tousled and down, the perfect combination of messy and styled.

"This is going to be the picture for my new ad," Hanna declared after staring at the picture for a full minute. She turned to the photographer, "Email this picture to my publicist, and she'll take care of it. I'll make sure you get the proper credit. This is going to be a hit." He looked at her in shock and nodded, taking the information she handed him.

"Well, we should go. Don't want to be late for the party!" Hanna exclaimed, everyone linking their arms together, and led them outside- to where a stretch limo was waiting. "What?" She asked innocently, "You didn't think I was going to let any of you drink and drive, do you?" She laughed and entered the limo first, beckoning the other girls to follow suit, which they did. The entire way to Aria's house, the girls laughed and reminisced about their high school years, back when things had seemed so simple.

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><p>"You girls look amazing," Ella exclaimed as the girls entered Aria's house, their entrance gaining the attention of everyone already in the house. The party was already in full swing, friends and colleagues of Ella, Byron, Mike and Aria dressed in gowns and suits.<p>

"Thanks!" the girls said in almost unison, walking further in to the house.

"There are hors d'oeuvres in the living room, and dinner's almost ready," Ella said, beginning to make her way back into the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder and called out before going in, "Aria, honey, I'm pretty sure everyone's here, but if anyone else rings the doorbell, do you mind getting it? Mike's running a little late in getting ready and your dad and I are still setting things up."

Aria nodded, "Yeah, of course, that's fine."

"Thanks sweetie," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.

As soon as Ella had closed the door behind her, Spencer, Emily and Hanna had been swept away to say hello to their respective families and to mingle. The doorbell rang, and Aria was relieved, if only because it meant that she had something to do. She walked over to the door and pulled it open, a smile coming to her face. "Tristan!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. "You actually came."

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist and giving her a small hug, "Of course I did. I told you I would, didn't I?"

Aria rolled her eyes and smacked him, pulling him into the house and closing the door behind him. "You look really nice," she said, running her eyes over his outfit, taking in his appearance. He was dressed in a sharp black suit, a black dress shirt and an dark green tie, to match Aria's dress, and looked amazing.

"You don't look too bad yourself," he countered with a smile.

"Why, thank you," Aria said with a grin. She heard the sound of laughter coming from behind her, and she turned to see the guests watching them and laughing. "What?" she mouthed to Spencer. Spencer cracked a smirk and nodded her head towards the ceiling above Aria and Tristan- where there hung a single branch of mistletoe.

Aria blushed and looked at Tristan, who laughed and said, "We have no choice." He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her in, planting a quick kiss on her lips. They pulled away quickly with a laugh, as everyone in the house cheered and clapped.

"What'd we miss?" Ella asked as her and Byron came out of the kitchen. They looked to see Aria and Tristan standing precariously close and immediately knew what had happened. They laughed and walked over to where the two stood.

"Mom, Dad, this is Tristan. Tristan, this is my mom, Ella, and my dad, Byron," Aria said, taking it upon herself to make the introductions after the crowd had turned back to their conversations.

"So _you're Tristan. _It's good to finally meet you," Byron said, gripping Tristan's hand firmly in his.

"You too, sir."

"Please, call me Byron."

"And please, call me Ella," Ella said, pulling Tristan into a hug. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Byron, Ella," he said, acknowledging their preferred greeting. "I'm sorry I was late, I had to clear up a few things with the paper first. Then the hotel forgot to call a car for me, and then I had to turn around to go back for the presents," he said apologetically.

"That's no problem at all," Ella said. "The only problem is that you're staying at a hotel. I insist that you stay here at our home with us, you are going to be family soon, after all," he said, gesturing towards the ring on Aria's left finger. "I believe congratulations are in order?"

"Mom!" Aria hissed. She looked at Tristan and gave him a look saying, _'I swear, I didn't say a single thing to her._' He discreetly nodded, urging her to play along.

"Aria," her mother admonished, "An engagement isn't exactly something you can hide from your mother."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Aria apologized, shooting sideways glances at Tristan. "We didn't want to make a big announcement about it tonight."

"Then you might want to hide the ring. I bet I could see it from miles away," she said, reaching for Aria's hand to see the ring. "Are you happy?" she asked, suddenly.

Aria was taken aback by her mother's question that it took her a few moments to reply, "Yeah, I am," she said, surprised by the amount of honesty that reverberated in her voice.

"Then I'm happy for you," Ella said, giving her a hug.

Aria looked around, suddenly noticing the absence of her father and 'fiance'. "Where'd Dad and Tristan go?"

Ella shrugged, "I'm not sure. Let me go check the kitchen." At that moment, the doorbell rang once more. "Do you mind getting that, while I check to make sure your father hasn't killed Tristan?" Aria laughed.

"Sure, no problem," she walked towards the door and pulled it open. Shock crossed her face. "Ezra."

"Hey," he said, "I hope I'm not late."

Aria moved to let him in, "No, you're not late at all." She closed the door and they stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do, what to say. Aria looked at him from head to toe when she thought he didn't know. He was dressed slightly more casually than everyone else, wearing a pair of black slacks, a white dress shirt and a suit jacket, sans tie. His hair was sprinkled with melting snow and his cheeks were a rosy color from the cold.

Aria heard a snicker from behind her, and immediately realized it was Hanna. "Oh, Aria. You know the rules," she said, smiling wickedly and pointing up towards the mistletoe.

"Hanna," she warned, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll make an exception this time. Aria kissing her ex-teacher is just a little more than inappropriate," Ella said, walking out of the kitchen and seeing Aria and Ezra in an awkward stance. "Ezra, it's so good to see you again. It's been too long."

"It has, I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch lately," he said apologetically. Ella waved it off dismissively.

"Don't worry about that, it's all in the past."

He nodded, "I was just telling Aria that I'm sorry about being late, the hotel couldn't find me a cab."

That piqued Ella's interest, "You're staying at a hotel?"

"Yes, I am. My family is still out in New York, and all of my friends are out of town. I just came because Spencer insisted," he explained.

"Well that won't do. You should stay here. You can take Mike's room, I'm sure he won't mind sleeping on the couch," Ella said. "You're practically family, anyway. And it'll give us time to catch up. Besides, Aria's fiancé is staying here with us, also. It'll give you a chance to meet him."

Aria's mouth dropped open in shock. "Mom, I don't think that's-"

"Dinner's ready!" Byron exclaimed, walking out of the kitchen with his arm around Tristan, the two of them looking like best friends. Ezra looked from Tristan to Aria, then from Aria to the ring, then from the ring to Tristan, making the connections in his head.

"Congratulations," Ezra said stiffly before following the crowd into the dining room, leaving Aria behind by herself.

She walked over to the living room and collapsed onto the couch, putting her head in her hands. What had she gotten herself into?


	14. Just Before the Strike of Midnight

**A/N: I really have to stop with the early morning chapters. I'm sorry if this is rushed; once again, it's not proofread or edited yet, so please forgive any mistakes.**

**As an apology for posting so late, and the fact that this chapter, by my standards, is kind of short, I added something I think you guys might really like at the end of this chapter. If you do like it, hit the button and leave me a review. I absolutely LIVE for them. An added thanks to everyone who's reviewed already, they truly made my day. :)**

**Enjoy! - J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Which sucks, but, it is what it is.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen- "Just Before the Strike of Midnight"<strong>

To say the last six days at the Montgomery house were awkward was an understatement. Possibly the understatement of the year. Ever since the disastrous dinner on Christmas Eve, when Aria's mother decided to invite both Tristan _and _Ezra to stay at their home, not knowing the problems she was causing.

Aria had pulled her mom to the side, trying to convince her that it was not a good idea to have both men staying in the same house, but when she couldn't come up with a valid response that wouldn't get all of them in trouble, she had absolutely no choice but to suck it up and deal with it.

As their way of dealing with it, Aria and Tristan and Ezra often stayed out of each other's way during this time. In the mornings, Ezra would excuse himself, claiming he wanted to wander around, meet up with a few of his friends that he found out had stayed in town for the holidays, when, in fact, Aria knew that that was a lie. In reality, he was actually in Philadelphia, spending time at his favorite coffee shop and bookstores, the whole thing a ploy to get out of the house.

It was fine with Aria, although it was completely unnecessary since she and Tristan went out every morning after Ezra left, meeting up with the girls to show him the true sights in Rosewood. They took him on a tour of all the local landmarks, took him to their favorite hangouts, showed him Rosewood High- they basically spend their days roaming aimlessly, just enjoying each other's company.

As much as it killed Aria to only see Ezra during breakfast and dinner at home, she couldn't stand to be around him and not tell him the truth. She couldn't throw Tristan under the bus; it wasn't his fault she was in this situation, it was hers. She had suggested it, she had insisted, but she was also the one who had never thought everything would end up this complicated. So she had to live with the consequences.

That didn't mean she didn't try her best to smooth things over with Ezra. Whenever she would see him at the table for breakfast, she would say hi, try to make small talk, but it was always met with a half-hearted response. Whenever her parents spoke to him, he would liven up, carry on a pleasant conversation with them, but when she made her attempt- nothing.

She would've admitted defeat and walked away, but she couldn't. She was still in love with Ezra, and she needed to make sure that he knew the truth. That there was nothing going on between her and Tristan, it was strictly platonic. It never worked because he would never let her explain, never even letting her begin the speech she had prepared in her head.

But that was going to change tonight. Tonight was the night of the Annual Montgomery New Year's Eve Party, Aria laughed and rolled her eyes, thinking about all of the parties her parents threw over the holidays, and Tristan had specifically given her the instructions to explain the entire situation to Ezra.

She remembered when Tristan had casually brought up, over breakfast nonetheless, that he was going to have to fly back to San Francisco that day because of a crisis at the paper. Ella had asked him if it was absolutely necessary that he fly back that morning, because it meant that he was going to miss the New Year's Eve party they planned. Even Byron and Mike had begged him to stay at least for the party. Aria smiled, her family had really taken to Tristan and fell for his charming ways. But what wasn't there to love about him? He was truly one of the few decent guys in the world. It just sucked that he wasn't the guy for her.

"There's a crisis at the paper? Do you need me to go, too?" Aria asked nervously. She really didn't want to have to leave her family and friends on New Year's Eve to fly back to San Francisco to work on the paper. As much as she loved it there, she needed some time off, also.

"No, no, don't worry about it. They just need me. Something about the printers refusing our issue because they didn't get my signature on a form. I need to fly out there and talk to whoever's in charge. I would do it over the phone, but they notoriously hate confrontation over the phone, so I have to talk to them in person."

She had shot him a speculating glance over her plate of bacon and eggs. There was something oddly calm and rehearsed about his speech. He caught her eye and discreetly shook his head, willing her to play along for now, and that he would tell her why later.

"What time is your flight?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow, challenging him.

Tristan's face fell slightly, knowing she wasn't going to give in without a fight. "The taxi is coming to pick me up from here in an hour, and the jet leaves at 10:30."

"Well, I guess we should go get you packed, then," Aria said. She turned to her parents and Mike, Ezra had left early that morning, "Can we be excused? Tristan never packs correctly, so I always have to help him."

"Of course, go ahead," Ella said, shooing them off. They said their thanks for breakfast before making their way to Aria's room, the room they had been sharing for the past few days.

She shut the door behind them and locked it, ensuring no one would be able to come in unannounced. "Okay, what's up? I know there's not some crisis at the paper, because if there was, you would not be this calm about it." He opened his mouth, intending to feed her a lie, but she knew him better than that. "Tristan Michael Hill, tell me the truth."

He blanched slightly at the use of his full name, but regained his composure quickly. "Fine," he conceded, "I've seen the way you and Ezra have been acting around each other lately. You never talk to each other, you don't look at each other, you can't stand to be in the same room as each other, you can't even acknowledge the other exists. And I can't help but think that this is all my fault. I mean, had I not-"

"Tristan, stop. This is not your fault," Aria interrupted. She gave him a look that showed she was, under no circumstances, willing to argue with him on this matter. She believed she was right, that this entire ordeal was her fault, and she wasn't going to waver.

"Even if it is your fault, which I'm not agreeing that it is," he added quickly, "it's up to me to make things right. So, I'm going to be going back to San Francisco, just for New Year's, while you tell him everything. You need to work things out with him, and the only way you can do that is by explaining to him the entire story, from the very beginning."

"Wait, why do you have to leave? Can't you stay for the party? My family and friends love you," Aria replied, slightly confused.

"As much as I would love to, I can't."

"Why?"

"Because Ezra won't talk to you while I'm within a hundred feet of you," he said with a laugh. It was true, as long as Tristan was around, Ezra wasn't going to let her speak her peace. "Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow, just long enough to convince your parents that there really was a crisis, and long enough for you to talk to Ezra."

And that was how Aria found herself alone in her room, wearing a sparkly, tight black dress, opaque black tights, and black wedge oxford booties, ready to make an appearance at the party downstairs. Her hair was curled and loose, and black eyeliner and thick lashes framed her eyes. She knew that Ezra was already mingling downstairs, only because she heard him close the door to Mike's room about ten minutes before.

Taking one last look in the mirror, she put on her determined face and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

* * *

><p>Ezra watched as Aria made her way down the stairs, his breath hitching involuntarily. Wearing a tight black dress, black tights and black heels that made her legs appear longer than ever, she looked amazing. He shook his head, she wasn't his anymore, she was <em>Tristan's<em>.

His stomach clenched, remembering the scene that unfolded before him yesterday, seeing the enormous diamond ring on Aria's finger at the same time Tristan walked out of the kitchen, Byron's arm thrown around his shoulder as if they were old friends. He couldn't forget the shock that had crossed Aria's face when she realized he had connected the dots. And when Aria's mother insisted that he stay with their family and Tristan, he had wanted to say no, but anyone who knew Ella Montgomery knew that when she had made up her mind, attempting to change it was a lost cause.

So he agreed, but he stayed out of the path of the happy couple. In the few odd moments that Aria had him cornered, attempting to make small talk with him, he rebuffed her advances, as much as it hurt to. He had to stay away from her, because he knew if he didn't, things would become more complicated than they already were. And staying away from her was relatively easy, when they weren't stuck in the same house, which was why he often left every morning. However, now that Tristan was gone, back to San Francisco to take care of a problem at the newspaper, he overheard, and they were both stuck at the same party at her house, there was no avoiding her.

Even right now, at this moment, she was making a beeline for him. He knew she wanted to talk, something about wanting to "explain things", but he didn't want to hear her explanations about how she had fallen in love with another man in the matter of two months and gotten involved in a whirlwind engagement. There was no way she was going to put a damper on his night, even if it meant that he would hide in Mike's room every once in a while in an attempt to keep away from her.

He needed to find a way to get away from her now, before she got to him, so he turned to the group beside him, luckily a group of professors he had become friends with in his short stint at Hollis a few years back, and joined in on their conversation. He snuck a peak at her, catching her eye, challenging her to interrupt his conversation with them. A flash of hurt crossed her face for a split second, before determination once again took over. He knew she was not going to give up without a fight.

He watched as she went over to meet with Spencer, Emily and Hanna, joining them in an animated conversation. He sighed in relief. He had escaped her for now, but how much longer could he hold out?

* * *

><p>Aria had just finished making the rounds, making polite conversation with the friends and family she would come across, all while keeping an eye out for Ezra. After a few moments, she spotted him making his way back downstairs. She began to make her way towards him, intending to block him on the stairs and forcing him to talk to her, if that's what it came down to. However, fate had another plan for her, someone ringing the doorbell at the exact moment she had taken her first step towards him.<p>

She was torn between being the polite host and opening the door, or ignoring it to talk to Ezra. The doorbell rang again, and she groaned, turning in the direction opposite from Ezra to open the door and let the guest in.

Walking over, she pulled open the door, a grin forming on her face. "Hey! I was beginning to think you were going to flake on me again and not show up!"

"Sorry, sorry, my 'family' forced me to spend some quality time with the on Christmas, so I couldn't make it over," he said, leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek and give her a hug.

Aria grimaced, knowing that Caleb's adoptive family was not his favorite place in the world, "Oh no, I'm so sorry about that."

He shook his head and smiled, "Don't worry about it, it's okay. In the seven years since I've been away, they've actually become more accepting, more civilized. I kind of enjoyed it."

"Well that's good to hear, but we still missed you," Aria smiled genuinely.

She heard a pair of heels walk up behind her. "Hey, what's taking you so long? You've been standing at an open door for-" Hanna paused when she saw Caleb's face in front of her. "Caleb?"

"Hey, Hanna. Happy New Year," he said, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek, the same way he had done to Aria moments before.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw Ezra attempting to sneak by her, but she wasn't going to let him get away that easily. "Caleb, come in. You guys can catch up in here. I hope you don't mind, but I have to go check on something really quick," she said, making a smooth getaway and rushing to catch Ezra.

"Ezra, Ezra, wait, can we talk? I don't want to end this year on a bad note between us," Aria asked, grabbing him before he could walk away from her one more time that night. It felt like she had spent the last three hours following him, both with her eyes and physically, but he had somehow managed to always escape her. He was sneaky, always finding some conversation with old colleagues that he snuck in to, or hiding somewhere around the house.

But this time, she had finally had him cornered with no escape. She watched as he tensed under her touch, then looked at where her hand was resting on his arm, the diamond ring glistening under the lighting.

He looked back up at her and glared at her with a ferocity she had never seen. She immediately pulled her hand back. "I don't think that's a good idea. Wouldn't want your _fiancé_ to get angry," he spat, beginning to walk away again.

She quickly trailed after him, as quickly as she could in five inch heels, following him to a corner in the living room. "Ezra, please, I need to make this right. I need to explain-"

"No," he said, turning his face away from her to look out the window. "There's nothing to explain. You made your choice, I can't stop what's already happened."

She placed her hand on his arm once more, watching as Ezra's face contorted to a grimace, then smoothed out, seemingly realizing that Aria was waiting for his game face to drop. He watched as she looked over at the crowd surrounding them, and once she realized that no one was watching them, she reached up with her other hand and turned his chin towards her, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "If you could have stopped it, would you?" she asked quietly.

"Aria, you don't just get to make decisions like this on your own! You can't go off and get engaged without telling, no, _warning_, anyone. Especially me," he hissed. He looked around and Spencer, Emily and Hanna's curious eyes on them, realizing they were close to making a scene, and dropped his voice down to a whisper. "I thought that we were going to wait out the three months while you were in San Francisco, then when you came back to New York, we were going to try to see where things would go with us. We were going to _try_. You can't exactly try to have a relationship with me if you're already engaged to someone else."

"I'm so sorry, Ezra. For everything." Aria said, casting her eyes downward. "But you have to understand, there's more to this story than you know."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Look, can we please just go somewhere more private? You have to let me explain," she pleaded.

"Aria, I don't have to _do_ anything. You kind of lost the privilege of telling me what to do when you got engaged to Tristan."

Aria looked at the clock. They had five minutes before the ball was set to drop, five minutes to tie up the loose ends that had developed this year, five minutes before the new year began. "Here, just- just, please, come with me," Aria said, grabbing a hold of Ezra's hand in hers and pulling him up the stairs to her room, trying desperately to ignore the shock of electricity that ran up her arm the second she touched him.

She guided them to her bedroom, not once letting go of his hand. In her mind she couldn't help but contain the feeling of happiness, knowing that his hand still fit perfectly in hers after all this time. She opened the door and walked in, finally letting go of his hand, and stood in front of her bed, keeping her back turned towards him as he closed the door behind them.

"This is ironic, isn't it? Being back in the room where everything kind of ended seven years ago?" Ezra said, his voice straining to remain civil. He kept a safe distance from her, standing near the doorway.

Aria scoffed, "Oh, trust me, the irony isn't lost on me at all." She turned around slowly and looked at him, _really_ looked at him, and whispered, "How did we get to this? How did everything get so complicated?"

Ezra cautiously walked over to Aria, and gingerly began to wipe away the few tears that had begun to fall from her eyes. "I guess that's what happens when you get involved with someone you know you're not supposed to be with, but can't stay away from."

"This is all my mother's fault," she said, a look of confusion crossing Ezra's face. She cracked a small smile, "My mom had this thing for ABBA, you know, the Swedish band from the 70's? The one's who caused 'Dancing Queen' to be played at every single party you go to?" Ezra nodded, not sure where this was going. "Well, she would always play their music whenever my dad was out of the house, he couldn't stand them, and one of her favorite songs to play on repeat was 'When I Kissed the Teacher'. I guess I always subconsciously harbored the dream of reenacting the lyrics to that song. You were the lucky teacher."

He chuckled, "Nice to know you were only with me because of your lifelong dream to experience what it was like to kiss a teacher."

"I spotted you from a mile away. Why do you think I was so willing to talk to you at the bar that day?"

"Ouch. And here I was, thinking it was because of my irresistible good looks and charm."

"I'll admit, they were a definitely plus."

They laughed together, and once the laughter died, something changed. The atmosphere in the room became electric, palpable. They stood there in silence for a few moments, searching each other's faces for a flicker of something. A sign that everything would turn out okay for them. Nothing needed to be said; in that space of time, words would only ruin the moment. Everything they needed to say was said through their eye contact, not one of them daring to break it for fear that once it happened, it would be lost forever.

Downstairs, they could hear the cheering begin.

_Ten! Nine! Eight!_

Aria took a step towards him at the exact moment that he stepped towards her.

_Seven! Six! Five!_

She wrapped her arms around his neck, he placed his hands lightly on her hips, pulling them closer together.

_Five! Four! _

"Is this the day you're going to tell me you 'dream of me every night'? Gonna show me you care, teach me a lesson?" Ezra asked, quoting lines from the song, the corners of his lips pulling up into a smile.

_Three! Two! _

"Just shut up and kiss me."

_One!_

"Gladly."

_Happy New Year!_

The crowd downstairs erupted in cheers and laughter, the sounds of corks popping and fireworks exploding outside filled the room. Ezra captured her lips and kissed her senseless, the way he had wanted to kiss her for months, for years. All the obstacles in their road dropped away, they could deal with those later. There was always tomorrow. After all, it was a new year.

Ezra backed her up, never once breaking their kiss, until the back of her knees hit her bed frame. They both fell on top of each other on the bed, laughing. So what if the champagne they had had earlier was slightly fogging their minds at this point, making them bolder, more willing to forgive, than they normally were? Maybe it was the push they needed.

Aria slipped her hands under Ezra's jacket, attempting to remove it, her tongue continuing to duel with his for control. She smiled against his lips. Yeah, this was definitely the way to ring in the new year. Everything could wait until morning.

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><p><strong>AN: If you liked it, please review! There are only two more chapters until the epilogue next week. I'll try to get today's, Thursday's, update up sometime during the afternoon and not early in the morning. No promises, though. Haha. - J**


	15. Long Time Coming

**A/N: So, truth be told, I wasn't entirely too happy with my last chapter. Personally, I thought it was too choppy, it didn't have the right flow and everything progressed too quickly. Heck, there's an element that I had been planning and saving since the very beginning to put in that chapter that I completely forgot about! I don't know if I'm just being too critical of my writing, but I just wanted to throw out an apology to those readers who, even though they didn't voice their opinions, thought I was capable of better. You all have been so supportive of my story so far, and you deserve the absolute best.**

**So, I'm hoping you all like this chapter. I'll admit, it's not perfect, but it's the absolute best I've got. I'm actually really happy with the way things went. By the way, if things seem a little bit off, it's because I'm trying to tie up a few loose ends and set up some things before the last real chapter, minus the epilogue, of course, goes up tomorrow. **

**Thank you all for sticking by me, and for all the amazing reviews for yesterday's chapter. It really meant a lot to me to see that, even though I thought it wasn't my best, you all still loved it. - J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the words and ideas. Sadly.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen- "Long Time Coming"<strong>

Aria awoke later that morning by the sound of chirping birds. Not to mention the excessively bright sunlight that had streamed through her window and directly into her eyes. She threw her left arm over her eyes and snuggled closer into the warm body beside her, her head tucked into the crook of their neck. Suddenly her eyes shot open and her mind started racing. What had happened last night? Where was she? Most importantly, who was in her bed?

She desperately thought back to the party last night, trying to remember her last memory. She had remembered opening the door and seeing Caleb finally arrive, she remembered Hanna sneaking up behind her and asking why she was taking so long at the door, she remembered Ezra...wait. What had happened with Ezra? She had the vague recollection of attempting to corner him and force him to listen to her, but as far as she remembered, he had found a way to escape her every time.

The man beside her rolled onto his side, snaking his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him, cutting off all hope of seeing his face. It was then that she realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. Come to think of it, she didn't know what she was wearing. She definitely wasn't in the dress and tights she had remembered last being in. Aria took a deep breath to calm herself down, at the same time breathing in the scent of the guy. His familiar scent.

"Oh, crap!" Aria whispered against his chest. She felt him shift beside her, but still didn't remove his arm.

"Go back to sleep, it's too early," he mumbled, pulling her in even closer.

She panicked. "No, Ezra, you need to get up right now," she exclaimed, trying to push herself away from him. But he wouldn't budge, he just held her tightly.

"Five more minutes."

She couldn't held but giggle as he slid his hand under the hem of her tank top, relieved to realize that she was, in fact, wearing clothes. His touch sent shock waves though her body. "Ezra, you need to wake-"

"Aria?" A knock at the door made Aria and Ezra pull away immediately in terror. "Aria, are you awake yet?" Her mother repeated through the locked door.

"Yeah Mom, I'm awake, just, give me a second," she said, fumbling around her room in an attempt to hide all evidence of what happened, or what didn't happen, last night. "Get in the closet," she hissed to Ezra, who was up and off the bed, attempting to figure out what to do.

"Excuse me?" he asked incredulously.

"Just get in the closet! Unless you _want_ my mother to see you shirtless and in my room," she repeated, opening the door to her closet and pushing him in between her dresses and shirts. "Be quiet."

"Aria?" Ella said again, turning the doorknob repeatedly.

"Yeah, hold on, I'm just getting dressed," she said, standing in front of her vanity mirror. She ran a brush through her hair and twisted it up into a pile on her head, securing it with a black hair tie. Once she was at least semi-satisfied with her appearance, she ran to the door. "What's wrong?"

Aria mom ran her eyes over Aria's frazzled appearance, raising an eyebrow, "You really must have been tired last night."

"I guess I just had too much to drink, that's all," she said, faking a yawn for emphasis. "Is that all?"

Ella shook her head, "I just came to ask, have you seen Ezra? I haven't seen him since last night, and when I went to check Mike's room, the door was open and the bed was still made."

Aria tried to keep her face neutral, "Um, no, I haven't seen him since last night, either." Her curiosity got the better of her, "Why?"

"It's nothing, there's just a visitor who dropped by a few minutes ago to see him. I guess I'll just tell her to come back later, since no one can seem to figure out where he is."

Aria furrowed her eyebrows, "Her?"

"Yeah, Jackie Molina. You remember, his co-worker? She said that they ended up sitting next to each other on the plane over here, and she heard through the grapevine that he was staying with us. She figured she'd drop by and visit both your father and I _and_ see Ezra at the same time. She brought her adorable daughter, she has the brightest blue eyes you'll ever see in your life," she gushed.

Aria froze. Blue? Jackie had a daughter who had blue eyes? It might have been jumping to conclusions, but she couldn't help it. Her daughter couldn't be Ezra's, could it?

"I have his cell phone number. Why don't I give him a call and see where he is?" she suggested with a shaky voice.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Let me know when you hear something from him," she said, turning around to go back downstairs to entertain Jackie.

Aria closed the door and turned to the closet, waiting for Ezra to come out. He pushed the door and stuck his head out, "Is it safe?"

"If by safe you mean, 'Is your mom gone?', then yes, you're safe."

He pushed the door further and walked out into the room. "Why do I get the feeling you have another answer to my question?" he asked slowly.

She opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by her door being opened again. Oh crap.

"Aria, you really should keep your door unlocked. If something happens to you, I won't be able to get in," Ella said, peeking her head inside the room. Aria nodded quickly, and spun around as soon as her mother shut her door, expecting to see Ezra, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Ezra?" she whispered. He got up from his crouched position behind her bed where he had run to hide. "You should go and get dressed. I'm going to go downstairs and stall."

"What are you going to tell them?" he asked, picking up his shirt and jacket from where they landed on the floor the night before.

"I'll just say you were taking a shower in the bathroom and you're just finishing up right now."

"Sounds good, I'll see you in a few minutes," he said, holding his clothing in his arms, sneaking back to Mike's room.

She sighed and went over to her vanity, grabbing a makeup remover wipe and began to swipe off all remains of last night's makeup. On her way out of her room, she threw on a large sweatshirt she spotted on her chair, deciding that if she was going to be confronting the ex-fianceé who could, quite possibly, have a daughter with the man she loved, she needed to at least be comfortable.

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><p>She padded down the stairs and into the kitchen where the sound of laughter and smell of strong coffee emanated. "Good morning," she greeted everyone with a smile. She turned to acknowledge her mother, who was pouring Aria a cup of coffee. "Ezra was in the shower. He said he woke up early and decided to head out for a little bit, which was why his bed was made when you checked. He's just getting dressed, he said he'd be down in a few."<p>

Ella nodded, "Sounds good," she said, handing Aria her cup of coffee. Aria sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter next to Jackie, Jackie's daughter on the other side of her, sipping on a cup of what looked to be hot cocoa. "Oh, Aria, this is Jackie and her daughter Madeline. Jackie, you might remember my daughter Aria from those Hollis mixers we used to throw all those years back."

Jackie smiled at Aria, extending her hand for her to shake, "Of course I remember you. This is going to make me sound so old, but I remember meeting you back when you were still in high school. Congratulations on your novel, by the way. I read it, and I can see why it made it onto the _Bestsellers _list."

Aria laughed lightly, reaching out to shake Jackie's hand, "Thank you so much, it means a lot to me that you liked it."

"It's no problem at all, I'm just speaking the truth," she said. She leaned away from the counter to reveal her daughter, "This is my daughter Madeline, but she prefers to go by Maddie."

Aria looked at the little girl with chocolate brown curls and the deep blue eyes she could spot from anywhere, "Nice to meet you, Maddie. You have very pretty eyes."

Maddie smiled shyly, "Thank you."

Jackie laughed, "Sorry, she can be a little shy sometimes."

"Don't worry, it's completely understandable."

Jackie continued her conversation with Ella, while Aria sipped her coffee, the wheels in her mind turning. Maddie had Ezra's eyes. Normally, she could've easily brushed it off, a lot of people had blue eyes. But there was something distinct about Ezra's, and Maddie's, eyes that you couldn't exactly pinpoint, but could spot immediately.

"Good morning everyone," Ezra called, walking into the kitchen. "Ella, I'm so sorry I worried you this morning. I woke up early, so I decided to take a shower," he said vaguely, since he wasn't sure exactly what Aria had told her.

"Oh don't worry about that, it's fine," Ella said, handing him a cup of coffee. "Jackie stopped by this morning to see you."

Jackie blushed, "Well, not just you. I heard from some friends that you were staying with the Montgomery's, so I decided to stop by and say hi to everyone." She nudged Maddie, "And this one couldn't stop talking about how much she missed you."

Aria watched as Maddie pouted, blushing, "No I didn't!"

Ezra laughed, placing his coffee cup on the counter and walking over to Maddie, scooping her up and swinging her around, "Don't worry, I missed you too." She squealed and laughed as Ezra placed her back on the chair, kissing the top of her head.

Jackie smiled one of those rare smiles that reached a person's eyes, and Aria couldn't help like she was interrupting an intimate family moment. They looked so happy that it was almost ridiculous. She watched as Jackie looked at her watch, realizing what time it was.

"I'm so sorry, but we have to go. I'm meeting my parents in twenty minutes," Jackie said, standing up from her seat, helping Maddie as she hopped down. "Thank you so much for the coffee, Ella. And it was nice seeing you again, Aria," she said, smiling at both of them. She turned to Ezra and lightly kissed his cheek, "Don't be such a stranger. Give us a call sometime, I'm sure Maddie here would love that."

Ezra laughed, ruffling Maddie's hair, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to call more often."

Ella walked Jackie out to her car, leaving Aria and Ezra alone in the kitchen. She looked at Ezra, "I think it's time we talked."

For a moment, Ezra stiffened, and Aria thought that he was going to bolt again, but he relaxed. "I think it is, too."

"Well, Mike and Byron went out to buy breakfast since I'm just too exhausted to whip anything up," Ella said, collapsing onto a barstool.

Ezra turned to her, "Actually, I was thinking of taking Aria out for brunch, if that's okay with you. I haven't gotten to catch up with her since she moved out to San Francisco, and I'd love to hear some of her stories." He snuck a look at Aria, "But only if that's okay with you, of course."

"Go, go, have fun," Ella said with a wave of her hand. "I'm just happy you guys are able to be in the same room again. Things were pretty tense between you this last week."

"That's kind of why I wanted to take her out, we need to work some things out," Ezra said.

"I understand. Go ahead, have a good time."

"Thanks, Ella."

Aria, during this entire exchange, was completely silent. When she felt her mom watching her, she finally found her voice again, "Um, thanks Mom."

"Get dressed, I'll just wait down here," Ezra said, nodding his head upstairs.

Aria smiled, "Just give me a couple minutes, I won't take long." She hopped off of her stool and made her way upstairs. She was finally getting her chance to explain her story to Ezra. That was what she wanted, wasn't it? Then why did things not feel quite right?

* * *

><p>An hour later and they were sitting comfortably in their favorite restaurant in Philadelphia, waiting for their order. While waiting for their food to come, they made amiable chitchat, purposely skirting around what they needed to really talk about. Without actually voicing it out loud, they knew that things would be easier to discuss if they had something in front of them, in between them, to keep them distracted if need be.<p>

But when their orders finally made their way out of the kitchen, there was no avoiding what needed to be said. And it was Aria that started everything.

"Okay, I'm just going to come right out and ask, what exactly happened last night?" she asked bluntly, "I mean, I didn't think I was that out of it, but I guess I had more to drink than I thought I did. I don't remember anything after pulling you up to my room to talk. How did you end up shirtless in my bed?"

One corner of Ezra's lips slowly pulled up, obviously he remembered the events of the night before. "After taking me up to your room to talk, you asked me how things had gotten so complicated, how we had gotten to where we are today." Aria nodded, that sounded kind of familiar. "I told you that that was what happened when you got involved with someone you knew you weren't supposed to get involved with," he continued. Yes, that was beginning to ring a bell.

Ezra began to grin, "Then you blamed your mom for everything."

Aria furrowed her brows, thoroughly confused. "I did? Did I say why?"

His lips twitched, attempting to keep from laughing, "You said it was because she played 'When I Kissed the Teacher' too many times when you were younger, and that ever since then, you had been harboring a secret dream of reenacting the lyrics to that song."

She gasped, "I did _not!_"

Ezra began laughing uncontrollably, "Oh, you did," he said, in between laughs. "You even said, and I quote, 'You were the lucky teacher'."

"Oh my gosh," Aria said, burying her face into her arms. "I'm never going to drink again."

"Hey, in a way, it was kind of cute," he said, his laughter slowly beginning to subside. "Then the countdown started, we started moving closer, and the next thing I new, people were shouting 'Happy New Year!' and we were rolling around on your bed."

She paled, "So, we had, _you know,_ last night?"

He shook his head, "No, we almost did, but I could tell that you were really out of it, so I stopped anything before it could start."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank God."

"I know what you mean," Ezra said curtly. He looked down into his ham and cheddar omelet, suddenly fascinated with counting how many pieces of ham there were. "What would've happened had I not had the common sense to stop it?" he asked abruptly.

Aria looked down at her own food, "I honestly have no idea. But I'm glad you did."

"Yeah, because you wouldn't want Tristan to find out you cheated on him the second he left town, now would you."

This was her chance, it was her segue into explaining everything. "Ezra, I-"

If only he would let her talk. "I can't believe you, Aria. You're engaged to another man, and yet, you were with me last night, ready to throw it all away."

"Ezra, wait-"

"I thought you were better than that. Is this what it would've been like if we had started a relationship before you left New York? Would you have been cheating on me with Tristan the entire time?"

Now Aria was getting mad. Not only was he not letting her explain herself, but here he was throwing around accusations before he even knew the entire story. She tried one more time, but if he interrupted her, she was going to have to resort to drastic measures. "You have to let me explain-"

"How could you do that to-"

"STOP!" Aria yelled, bringing his ranting to a stop. Along with all the other conversations in the room. She smiled politely at everyone, waiting until the noise level picked up again before speaking. "I've tried to tell you time and time again that I have an explanation for all of this. But I can't explain anything to you when you keep accusing me of doing horrible stuff you know I would never do!"

"Really, Aria? Do I really know you anymore? You've said it yourself before, we've changed. How do I know this isn't who you are now?" Aria felt a pang of hurt deep in the pit of her stomach. Did he really believe that she could ever cheat on someone? Did he really think that she was that cruel? "Never in a million years would I have pegged you as the cheating type, but, things change," he said bitterly, adding insult to injury.

She spoke quietly, "Yeah, well, I never pegged you as the type to knock a girl up and then not be in their child's life."

Shock crossed his face, "Aria, you-"

She shook her head, knowing that that would've been the first thought to cross his mind. "No, Ezra, not me. Jackie. Her daughter Maddie looks just like the exact cross between you and her. She has Jackie's dark brown hair, your curls, Jackie's facial structure," she took a deep breath to steady herself, looking down at her plate of food, willing herself not to cry, "and she has your eyes. Those eyes are so distinctive. If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought that they were just another pair of blue eyes, but there's something in them that reminds me so much of you. Not to mention, she looks about six, so that was right around the time we broke up and you left for Hollis."

"Aria," he said, so softly that she almost hadn't heard him. "Aria, look at me." His voice coaxed her to lift her eyes to look at him, "She's not my daughter."

Now Aria was confused. "She's not?"

"No, she's my brother's." Aria tilted her head to the side. She didn't even know he had a brother. He leaned back into his seat, "I'm sure you remember that about a year before you and I met, we were engaged, but she broke it off. She had told me that she 'wasn't ready for that type of commitment'. It turns out the reason she wasn't ready was because she was seeing someone else. My brother Daniel.

"She finally told me the truth about her cheating on me when she found out I was going to be working at Hollis. It turns out that by that point, they had been together for two and a half years, were engaged and expecting a baby, and she didn't want me to find out from someone else. How my brother, my _brother_, could've hid this from me was unfathomable, so I cut them both out of my life. It was a part of the reason why I decided to move out to New York. I knew my parents would be living there, but my brother and Jackie were staying near Hollis, and I couldn't stand being anywhere around them.

"I saw Jackie and Maddie for the first time on the plane ride here from New York. They were just getting back from spending some time with Daniel and my parents in New York, and they were flying back to Rosewood to spend the holidays with them. Seeing Maddie all grown up and not knowing that I was her uncle killed me, so I vowed that I was going to make up for lost time, even if it meant forgiving Jackie and my brother."

"So," Aria said slowly, trying to process what he had just said, "Jackie cheated on you with your brother Daniel, who she later married and had Maddie with."

"The condensed version, but yes, that's correct."

"Hence the eyes," she asked apprehensively.

"Hence the eyes," he repeated, nodding his head to emphasize his point. "Aria, I would never do that to you, even if we were broken up. You have to believe me."

"Just like you believe me?" Aria asked, looking at him with lightly watering eyes. "Don't worry, even if you don't trust me, I still believe you. I know you wouldn't do something like that."

The silence spread over them for a few minutes, each not knowing exactly what to say. "Tell me what happened between you and Tristan," Ezra said faintly. "I promise I'll listen."

Aria looked at him, "You promise you'll hear me out this time? No interruptions?"

He held up his hands in mock surrender, "I promise, no interruptions."

She nodded, satisfied. "Okay, where should I begin?" she asked herself. "I guess the most reasonable thing is to start from the very beginning, from the moment I landed in San Francisco.

"The day I landed in San Francisco, Tristan was the one who met me at the airport and brought me to my townhouse. He was the one who helped move me in, the one who helped me get situated, showed me around the paper. He introduced me to his friends, spent his lunch breaks with me, and took me out to dinner with our other colleagues, trying to make my move a little bit easier.

"Then a week in, things started changing. He started bringing me coffee in the mornings, we started going out to dinner by ourselves more. I noticed things were off, but I didn't know why until that day we were Skyping. He walked in, looking completely terrified. After we hung up, he told me he had something he needed to tell me. Told me people in the office noticed that we acted differently around each other and that questions were starting to be raised about our 'relationship'. He told me he was gay.

"I promised I would keep it a secret. Then a few days later, we went out to a diner we loved going to, and he asked me to be his girlfriend, telling me that maybe with time we would fall in love. It was then that everything clicked for me. People at the paper were questioning why he never had any girlfriends, thinking maybe he was gay, and he didn't want anyone to know about that just yet.

"So, I suggested that I pretend to be his girlfriend. We would never actually confirm anything when people asked, so we weren't really a 'couple', we really were just best friends, but we were acting so vague and evasive about it that people were convinced we were much more than that. One weekend a few weeks ago, we went out to Las Vegas with the other lead reporters on the staff. Long story short, we got drunk and ended up in bed together the morning with a ring on my finger.

"Tristan immediately hired the best investigators and found out that we had never even made it to the altar, so we weren't married at all. But that still didn't stop word from reaching his parents that he had gotten married. They called him, told him they were so proud of him for finally taking the next step in his life and getting married. It was the first time they ever showed any sort of liking towards him."

"So you had to keep the charade up," Ezra finished. "Which is why you're wearing the ring and why everyone thinks you're engaged."

Aria nodded, relieved that he understood the story. "Exactly."

He let out a low whistle, "Well, can't say I was expecting that." Their eyes met for a brief moment, and they both exploded with laughter. "I can't believe you would think I had a daughter!" he said in between laughs.

"And I can't believe you would think I'd be engaged to anyone else besides you!" she said, laughing hysterically. It was then that she realized what she had said.

"If I asked you to marry me, you'd say yes?" he asked curiously.

She had to choose her words carefully, "Well, I would like to think that if you asked me sometime in the future, not now of course, I would say yes. I am still in love with you, Ezra."

"And I'm still in love with you," he replied, the words slipping out easily. "But, where does this leave us now?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Well," he said, leaning forward and picking up his fork again, cutting a piece of his omelet to eat, "I do think we need to be honest with each other. About everything."

"I've already told you the truth about everything. I have no more secrets."

"But I haven't." She looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I knew you were going to San Francisco to get a job before you told me."

"But how?"

"I was the friend who sent Tristan your writing samples," he explained. She was truly confused at this point. How did he know Tristan? "Tristan's family is from Massachusetts, while my parents are from New York. They basically run in the same circles, so I asked my parents if they could pass along your samples to Tristan's parents, who would give it to Tristan."

"But why?"

"Because I knew it was your dream to go to California and become a writer," he said. "Even after seeing you for the first time in seven years, I could see you had lost the spark you had in high school. You hadn't gotten to travel to California, and you hadn't really been writing anything in months. You were getting bored, and I could see that. So I used a couple of my connections and tried to help you to get the job in San Francisco. It was my way of apologizing for leaving you, for lying to you about Jackie the first time."

"Even if it meant you would lose me again, so soon after crossing paths again?"

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't, it was never yours to begin with," he quoted.

A comfortable quiet set over them, as if they were both trying to grasp the gravity of the situation. Suddenly Aria's phone buzzed with a new text message. She dug her phone out of her bag and quickly scanned her eyes over the text. Before Ezra even knew what was happening, she was throwing down money on the table to cover for their food and was out of the booth, yanking him away.

"Aria, where are we going?" he asked. He had never seen Aria this frantic, this frazzled.

"We're going to pick up Tristan," she said, throwing him the car keys, obviously having enough sense to know that she shouldn't be the one driving in this situation.

"Are you going to explain why?"

She smiled at him, "We're going to tell the truth."

_New text message from: Tristan Hill_

_Hope you told Ezra everything. To tell you the truth, I didn't go to San Francisco. I went to Massachusetts to see my parents. I came out and told the truth, that we weren't married and that I'm gay. And they were surprisingly very supportive about everything.  
><em>_It's time you told your parents the truth, Aria. I want you to be happy. I'm arriving in Rosewood in two hours; come pick me up and I'll help you break the news to your parents._

_- Tristan_


	16. We've Come to the End of the Road

**A/N: And here we are, the last **_**real**_** chapter of Love's To Blame before the epilogue. I'm sorry it's so late, but I really wanted to make sure I tied up all of the loose ends. I didn't want anything kind of hanging up in the air, because I, personally, have a pet peeve for stories that explore a plot line, then abandon it and don't explain what happened. So, if you get to the end and find that I've forgotten to explain what happened to something, or just need clarification, don't hesitate to let me know. I'm only human, I make mistakes, too. :)**

**Anyway, I don't exactly know what to say, except thank you. Thank you so much for all your incredible support, for all your awesome reviews, for all of the time you've spent following Aria and Ezra's journey. It truly means a lot to me that even though all of the horrendous obstacles I've put them through, the long wait in between chapters, my ridiculously long Author's Notes, you've all stuck by me and supported me.**

**I'm going to save all of the really sappy stuff for the very end of the story. But, for right now, I just wanted to say thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.**

**The ending of this chapter is kind of bittersweet, but don't worry, I promise there's a happy ending in the epilogue. Please keep reviewing! Since this is the last chapter, I'd love for, if possible, everyone who reads this to review. It would really mean a lot to me.**

**Okay, enough of the sappy and onto the chapter! Haha. Enjoy! - J**

**Disclaimer: Still own nothing. :/**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen- "We've Come to the End of the Road"<strong>

"You're absolutely positive you want to do this?" Ezra asked one final time as he pulled into the Montgomery's driveway. "You know, we don't have to bombard them with everything all at once."

"He's right," Tristan chimed in from the backseat. "I mean, I understand the rush in telling them about our fake engagement/wedding, but do you really need to drop the bomb about you and Ezra at the same time, too?"

Aria took a deep breath, "Yes, I do." She left the two men in stunned silence as she determinedly pushed open her door and stormed to her front door. "It's the classic self-preservation tactic. One shocker right after the other," she called out when she heard them rushing to catch up to her, not bothering to turn around. "We're going to start by telling them that Tristan and I aren't engaged and that the whole thing was a ridiculously twisted ruse, and then, while they're still reeling from the fact that we unintentionally deceived them, I'm going to slip in that Ezra and I were seeing each other back when he was my teacher in high school, that we met up again in New York, and that eventually, when I get back from San Francisco, we're going to be getting back together." She spun around so quickly that Ezra and Tristan had just barely enough time to stop before running into her. "You got that?"

"Yes," they said at the same time.

She smiled, "Good." She pulled out her key and was just about to slip it into the lock when the door opened. She staggered back in surprise. "Mom, Dad."

"Crap," Ezra muttered behind her.

"You can say that again," Tristan replied, trying to plaster an innocent smile on his face.

"How much of that did you hear?" Aria asked her parents, ignoring the two pseudo-angelic men behind her.

"Enough to know that we should probably have a talk," Ella said, pulling the door open further and ushering them in. "Come on, you're just in time; I just pulled a batch of chocolate chip cookies from the oven. Maybe that will help make things a little easier."

Aria, Ezra and Tristan followed Byron to the dining table while Ella went to get a platter of cookies and cold milk. Byron sat on one side of the table, pulling out Ella's chair for her before sitting down, while Ezra, Aria and Tristan followed suit, sitting on the opposite end to face him. A minute later, Ella walked in and passed out the glasses of milk, placing the platter of cookies in the center of the table.

"Now that we're all situated, who wants to start?" Ella said, cutting to the chase.

Aria, sitting in between Ezra and Tristan, cleared her throat and attempted to speak strongly. "Mom, Dad, Tristan and I have something to tell you," she paused long enough to gather her bearings, "We're not engaged."

"If you're not engaged, then why are you wearing a ring on your ring finger?" Byron asked, clearly confused. Suddenly his face twisted in shock, "Aria, I swear to God, if you tell me you married him, I cannot be held accountable for my actions. Even if I do like Tristan."

Aria and Tristan both fiercely shook their heads, "No, trust me, we're not married either."

"So then, explain to us why you're wearing a ring. And why you didn't correct me at the party Christmas Eve party when I asked if you were engaged," Ella replied, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

Aria turned to Tristan, "You want to explain, or should I?"

"They're your parents."

"But they like _you_ better."

"How about," Byron interjected, "you both tell us?"

"Okay," Aria said, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear, "I guess we should start from the very beginning." She broke off a piece of the cookie in front of her and popped it into her mouth, letting the chocolate melt on her tongue before launching into the story. "The last time the girls and I were out here, for Hanna's store launch, we were at dinner and I got a call from The San Francisco Chronicle. The person who called me was Tristan."

"A friend of mine had passed me a few of her writing samples," Tristan picked up, "and I knew I would've had to have been an idiot to pass her up. So I called her right away with an proposition she couldn't refuse: an all expenses paid flight to San Francisco from New York, a fully furnished townhouse, a brand new car for her to use and her own office, among other perks."

"It was an offer I couldn't refuse, so I, as you know, accepted it."

"I kind of saw Aria as my protégé in a way, so I wanted to make sure she was well taken care of when she arrived. I personally picked her up from the airport and drove her to her new house. I showed her around San Francisco, made sure she felt comfortable at the office, and introduced her to all of our co-workers at the paper and to some of my friends from around the neighborhood. I took it upon myself to make sure she felt comfortable in her new surroundings. I remember what it was like to be the new person- it was always pretty difficult- and I didn't want her to have to go through that."

"After about two or three days, I started feeling really close to Tristan, and I had never felt that with someone I had just met. We had a lot in common and we began to go out for breaks and dinner after work, just the two of us, so we could talk. But people around the office began to be really suspicious, thinking that something was going on between us because there was no way we could have been that close after only a few days," Aria shook her head, "Trust me, if _I_ had been in their situation and had seen two people acting like Tristan and I, I would've thought the same thing."

"Over dinner one night, I casually asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend," Tristan said offhandedly. "But she said no." Aria watched as her parents' expressions slightly changed.

"Why'd you say no?" Ella asked, a tinge appalled that her daughter had turned down someone like Tristan. From what she had heard around the community, and from the girls, he was a major catch- a mother's dream.

Aria shot Tristan a look, almost as if she was asking him whether he was sure she was okay with telling them. He gave her the go-ahead, and she explained. "Because, first off, he's gay." She subtly snuck a quick glance at Ezra, who was sitting back in his chair and listening to their exchange, "And I was already kind of seeing someone else."

"You're _gay_?" Ella and Byron questioned Tristan at the same time, completely ignoring Aria's last statement.

"I am," Tristan confirmed, "I've just been trying really hard these last few years to hide it from everyone."

"Why would you feel the need to hide it?" Ella asked.

Tristan paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer such a loaded question. "Well, I guess it was mainly due to my parents. You have to understand, I was born into a relatively conservative family. I was born in Massachusetts, my family came from old money, and my dad harbored the dream that one day, my older brother Brendan would take over the family business, while all my younger sister Blakely had to do was get a good education and snag a rich husband. That left me, the middle child, competing for my parents' attention.

"I guess I figured that if I ever told them that I was gay, they'd see me as a disappointment. They'd never be able to see me marry a woman wearing a beautiful white dress, watching her walk down the aisle in an exquisite church in some fancy location somewhere in the world, and have the 2.5 kids with a Labrador and the house with a white picket fence.

"I have to be honest with you, when I left yesterday, I didn't leave because there was a crisis at the paper in San Francisco, I flew out to Massachusetts to see my parents. I needed to come out and tell them the truth about who I was. I couldn't let Aria throw away the love of her life because of my selfish reasons."

"Tristan," Ella said, reaching over to take his hand in hers. "Your parents would be crazy to be disappointed in you. You've accomplished so much, and you're such a wonderful person, that I know they would accept you, no matter whether or not you fit into the status quo," she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I know, Ella. Well," he amended, "I know that now. My parents were really supportive of my decision to come out. It was truly a surprise."

Ella nodded and gave him a smile before pulling her hand away. "But that still doesn't really answer the original question. Why is Aria wearing a ring on her finger?"

"And this is where it gets difficult to explain," Aria began. "Over dinner the night he asked me to be his girlfriend, we ended up coming to an agreement that I would kind of pretend to date him to keep people around the paper from questioning his sexuality. We never came out and explicitly said we were a couple, we just stayed evasive whenever they asked and acted like we were together."

"And it worked, up until the weekend all of the lead reporters decided to go out to Vegas," Tristan said hesitantly. He looked over at Aria, hoping she would continue the story, but she just stuffed the rest of her cookie in her mouth and pointed, insinuating that because her mouth was full, it was up to him to finish. He sighed, "Long story short, we got really drunk and woke up the next morning with a ring on Aria's finger."

He spoke quickly, hoping to calm the shocked looks on Aria's parents' faces, "We found out soon after that we weren't married, but word had somehow gotten to my parents. They called me when I was on my way to picking up Aria before our flight here, saying they were so proud of me. I couldn't bear to disappoint them by saying that we hadn't really gotten married, so we agreed to keep the pretenses up until after we figured out a plan to get out of the mess we had made. Which meant lying to you."

"We're sorry, Mom, Dad. We didn't mean to intentionally lie to you, but I knew how much it meant to Tristan that he had his parents support. I had to go along with it," Aria said, clearly ready to talk now that Tristan had finished the story and she had, conveniently, finished chewing.

Ella and Byron looked at each other for a few moments before Ella spoke. "We can't believe that you'd feel like you couldn't just come right out and tell us the truth, but we understand that you had to do what you did. We wish you could've trusted us to tell us what was really going on, but we understand."

"So you're not angry?" Aria asked cautiously.

"We're not angry, per se," Byron answered, "just a little bit disappointed." Aria nodded in understanding. She would take what she could get. "Now, what was it that Tristan said? Something about not wanting you to throw away the 'love of your life'?" he questioned. "Who was he talking about?"

"Um," Aria stammered, biting her lower lip. She felt Ezra tense up beside her before reaching under the table to grasp her hand in his, a gesture of solidarity. He was there for her and he wasn't going anywhere; he wasn't backing down. "Tristan was talking about-"

"He was talking about Ezra," Ella cut in. Aria and Ezra's mouths opened in shock.

"Mom, you knew?"

Ella nodded her head, a tiny smile beginning to play on her lips, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "I've known about it since you were in high school."

Aria's eyes bugged out and she tightly gripped Ezra's hand under the table, "Since_ high school_? How'd you know?"

Ella laughed, "Aria, one day when you have children, you're going to understand the power of a mother's intuition. Besides, I worked at the same school, too, you know. I heard the rumours about Ezra seeing a student, and as much as I wanted to blow them off, I saw how you both interacted with each other, how comfortable you acted around one another. It wasn't long before I put two and two together."

"And you were okay that I was seeing my English teacher?" Aria asked incredulously.

"When I first found out about it, I wasn't," Ella admitted. "But as time went on, I tried to push my maternal perspective away for the moment and see the situation from an objective point of view.

"I knew the facts: you had met in that bar near the Hollis campus before school began and before you knew he was your teacher. I knew that you had tried to stay away because you knew it was wrong and would cause more problems for everyone. I knew that when you realized that the relationship wasn't going to work as long as he was your teacher, Ezra quit Rosewood to teach at Hollis so you could be together. I also knew that you two were so similar and had temperaments that complemented each other's," she laughed, "If Ezra was a tad bit younger or if you had been just a little bit older, and you weren't teacher and student, I probably would've been the first person to try and set you up."

"But how did you know about all of that?" Aria asked, surprised that her mother had known all about her and Ezra for all these years. She was sure that the girls hadn't told her parents, Ezra barely even knew that she told them years back.

Ella smiled suspiciously, "I may have snuck into your room and read your diary every once in a while."

"Mom!"

"What? I had the right to," she replied defensively.

Aria tilted her head to the side, "But, if you've known this entire time. Why did you never say anything? Why didn't you try to break us up?"

Ella looked at Byron, "Well, after I found out, your dad and I had a long talk about how we were going to proceed. At first, the only thing we wanted to do was blame Ezra for everything that was happening and say that he was taking advantage of you, then your dad was going to break into Ezra's apartment and thoroughly beat him when he least expected it, while I was going to send you to a psychiatrist and try to make you see that he had been brainwashing you." Ella chuckled as she watched all the blood drain from Ezra's face, "Don't worry, that idea didn't last long.

"We both realized that you were practically an adult. You had never done anything in the past to make us doubt your judgement, and we knew that if anything happened to you that you didn't feel comfortable with, we had an open enough relationship that you would feel okay coming to us and talking about it.

"It was about time you made your own decisions. We knew we couldn't shield you from the real world for very much longer after that and that you needed to be able to experience and make adult decisions on your own. So, we let you continue your relationship with Ezra. We both knew you were responsible, and that you wouldn't really do anything to compromise the trust we put in both of you."

"So," Aria began cautiously, "you're okay with Ezra and I?"

"Well," Ella said, looking at Byron, who was sternly staring Ezra down, "we would feel more comfortable if he wasn't your ex-high school English teacher, but there's not much we can do. We can throw a fit, demand that you never see him again and threaten to disown you, but would that really keep you two apart? No. It wouldn't really do much except alienate you from us, which we don't want to ever happen. So all we can do is slowly try to accept your relationship and be happy that you're both older and more mature now."

Aria nodded and grinned at Ezra, thankful that her parents were trying their best to be supportive. She finally let go of her death grip on his hand, immediately allowing Ezra to finally stretch it out and regain feeling in his fingers, and locked eyes with her parents, "Thank you, so much, for being okay with this," Aria began.

"I just wanted to let you know that, for right now," she said, throwing a knowing look over to Ezra, "that there isn't a relationship between Ezra and I right now. We've just met again a couple months ago for the first time seven years, and we're taking things slowly, getting to know each other again. We've both changed a lot, and we want to spend some time relearning everything about each other. But when we get back together, you'll definitely be the first to know," Aria said, a tear slowly running down her cheek, "I've had to keep so many secrets over the last few years, and I don't want to do it anymore. I just want to tell the truth; I want for everyone to be honest."

"And that's what we want, too," Ella said, getting up from her seat to walk over to Aria. Aria stood up also and ran to pull her mom into a tight hug. "We just want you to be happy, and if being with Ezra is what makes you happy, then so be it."

"Thank you, Mom," Aria whispered into Ella's ear, tightening her grip.

"You're very welcome," Ella whispered. She rolled her eyes as she saw Tristan and Ezra getting up at the same time as Byron, walking to meet each other.

Byron reached out his hand towards Ezra, strongly shaking it, a terrifying glint in his eyes. "If you hurt my daughter, my threat still stands. I can't be held accountable for my actions," he said, extracting his hand from Ezra's to shake Tristan's. "Same goes for you. You may not be dating her, but I can tell you're going to be a big part of her life."

"Trust me, we understand, Sir," Ezra said, fiercely nodding his head.

"Good," Byron said, turning to where Aria was waiting to give him a hug.

"I love you, Dad," she said with a smile. Byron couldn't help feeling like his heart was melting. He pulled her into a tight squeeze, and she buried her head into the crook of his neck as he softly patted her hair.

"I love you, too, Aria."

After they pulled away, Aria, Tristan and Ezra excused themselves, saying they were late for lunch with Emily, Hanna and Spencer. Once they were out the door and in the driveway, Aria grinned at Ezra and wrapped her arms around his neck and he picked her up and began swinging her around. Tristan laughed and put on his sunglasses, tightening the scarf around his neck.

"We're finally out in the open," Ezra said, putting her down onto the ground.

"It's been a long time coming," she said, giving him a quick kiss. "Come on," she pulled him to the car, where Tristan was already waiting, "we're going to be late meeting the girls for lunch. We have a lot we need to tell them."

Aria got into the passenger's seat, while Tristan slipped into the backseat, Ezra starting the engine and turning up the heat. As he backed out of the driveway and turned onto the main road, he couldn't keep the grin off of his face. The road in front of them was wide open, no roadblocks stood in their ways anymore, both literally and metaphorically.

* * *

><p>"I can't believe our Rosewood vacation is over and it's back to our real life," Emily said, picking up her carry-on bag as it came out of the x-ray machine.<p>

"As much as I don't want to go back to work, I'm kind of glad to be getting out of Rosewood. There was _way_ too much drama over the last two weeks. I just want to get back to my quiet life in San Francisco, back to my peaceful townhouse, and sleep for the next week," Aria proclaimed, pulling the zipper up on her boots before standing up. "Where did Caleb and Hanna go?"

Ezra shrugged, taking Aria's laptop bag from her and slinging it over his right shoulder, wrapping his left arm around her waist as they made their way towards their respective gates and away from the security checkpoint. "They went ahead. Probably making out at the gate."

Spencer smiled, "I'm really glad they were able to make up. I always did like them together in high school, it just sucks that he had to move to LA."

"It's kind of convenient then that his company is relocating him to New York next month, don't you think? At least they won't have to do the long distance thing for too long. Those suck," Emily quipped.

"Speaking of long distance," Spencer began before calling over her shoulder with a laugh, "Don't try anything cheeky back there!" Aria and Ezra had slowly drifted off behind Emily, Spencer and Tristan, and were currently absorbed in their own world.

Aria stuck out her tongue, "Don't be jealous just because you're not going home with a boyfriend of your own!"

Tristan laughed and came in between Spencer and Emily, swinging each of his arms around the shoulders of both girls, "Don't worry about these two, I've got them covered." Spencer and Emily laughed and rolled their eyes, shoving him playfully.

"Actually, I am coming home with someone," she said. Tristan pulled his arm away from her and looked at her incredulously, "Okay, well I'm not technically '_coming home_' with them. But I am kind of, sort of, seeing someone."

Aria's eyes widened and she rushed out from under Ezra's arm to hear the gossip from Spencer. "You are? Who?"

"Toby Cavanaugh."

Emily and Aria gasped, "You're seeing Toby?" they chorused.

Spencer laughed, "Yeah, I kind of am. I ran into him on my way home from visiting Alison's grave, and we started talking. We went on a date or two, and decided that we were just going to keep things casual. Take it day by day, you know?"

Tristan turned to Emily and smirked, "Guess that just leave you and me then."

"Well..." she trailed off.

"You met someone, too?" Aria squealed. "Who is it? What's her name? Do we know her?"

Emily chuckled at Aria's excitement, "Her name is Samara Cook."

"Samara Cook," Spencer repeated. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Samara was the girl who went to Sheridan Prep and was supposed to help Paige with her...transition," she bit her lip. Aria knew it still hurt her a little whenever she thought about Paige. "Anyway, she was going to meet Paige one weekend to offer some guidance, and I was going to be her moral support, but Paige called me last minute to say she wasn't going. So I didn't show up and we never met."

"So, how'd you meet her this time?" Aria asked.

"Funny story, actually. It was my mom who introduced us."

"Your mom?" Spencer replied, astonished that the woman who, in the past, was so against her daughter's lifestyle was the one who introduced her to the woman who could, quite possibly, end up being someone Emily could be with for a long time. If the look in Emily's eyes were any indication, that was.

"Trust me, I was probably more surprised than you," Emily replied, "We met at Aria's party. My mom said one of her friends had a daughter who went to Sheridan Prep and was president of their LGBT chapter and is currently at Columbia getting her Master's degree in Gender Studies. We met and hit it off. It's nothing serious yet, but it could be. I'm really hoping it could be."

Aria grinned. She was so happy that they were all going back with their own happy endings. Or, more technically, happy beginnings. None of them knew where life was going to take them over these next few years, but at least they all had someone they could share their experiences with. Well, almost all of them, at least.

Tristan extracted his arm from Emily's shoulder dejectedly. "Guess that just leaves me, then," he muttered. But there was a tiny glint in his eyes.

"Awe, don't worry," Aria said, leaning in to give him a hug, "now that you're out in the open, we can find you someone in San Francisco. Or maybe your parents can set you up, they seemed pretty supportive when you called them yesterday. With all the people they know, I'm sure they can find you someone out there."

"Maybe," he mused. Aria laughed, sneaking a look over her shoulder at Ezra who was walking beside them, amused by their gossiping. She reached for his left hand, intertwining her fingers with his and gave it a light squeeze and a reassuring smile.

"You guys go ahead, I need to talk to Ezra for a bit." Spencer, Tristan and Emily nodded and walked away with a look of understanding. And now they were attempting to sneak up and scare Hanna and Caleb who were, as Ezra correctly predicted, making out at their gate.

"I'm really going to miss you," Ezra said, placing her laptop bag onto her shoulder. He reached over and tucked a stray hair that was covering her eyes behind her ear.

"I'm really going to miss you, too. But I'll be back before you know it, I promise," Aria said, hitching the strap of her bag higher on her shoulder.

"Forty-four days," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"You remembered?"

"I never actually forgot."

Aria grinned at him and stood on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck. "Keep in touch, okay? It's just forty-four days. Once that's over, I'll be back in New York for good, and we'll see where things go from there," she whispered in his ear. She pulled away slightly to look at his face, committing it to memory.

They locked eyes. "Aria, we're standing in the middle of the walkway," Ezra whispered.

"Doesn't matter."

"We're blocking peoples' paths."

"They can walk around us." Then she kissed him slowly, savoring each second. They both moved steadily; this was going to be the last real bit of contact they would have for another month and a half. Aria tangled her hands into Erza's curls, while he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Their tongues explored each other's mouths for what seemed like hours. At that moment, time stood still.

"American Airlines Flight 384 from Rosewood to San Francisco is now boarding from Gate 10," an announcer called over the intercom, pulling them back to reality.

Aria and Ezra reluctantly let go of each other. "I guess that's your cue to go," he said with a crooked smile.

"I guess so," she said. She brushed a curl away from Ezra's forehead, letting her fingers linger just a little bit longer. Bringing her hands back down, she took a few steps backwards towards her gate where the girls were saying goodbye to Tristan and Caleb. "Text me when you land?"

Ezra nodded, "Call me when you get home." He watched as she turned around and made her way to where everyone else was standing at the front of the line, giving Tristan, Caleb and Aria hugs and saying goodbye. Handing the lady their boarding passes, Aria turned to give Ezra one final wave and a smile.

He raised his hand and waved, watching as she disappeared quickly through the glass tunnel, trying to catch up to Tristan and Caleb.

"Don't worry, she'll be back soon," Spencer said, giving his arm a squeeze. Ezra nodded and turned away from Aria's gate, following the girls to their own gate, where their flight was also boarding.

A few minutes later, when his plane began to move down the runway, he looked out the window and saw Aria's plane also moving down the runway next to his. He watched as was mimicking his movement, watching his plane from her window. As the two crossed, Aria and Ezra's eyes met at the same moment. Aria blew him a small kiss and pressed her palm to her window before their planes simultaneously began accelerating in different directions.

And just like that, they were gone.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so, there's the end. What'd you guys think? Please review and let me know, I'd absolutely love to hear your thoughts. :)**

**The epilogue will be up by Wednesday- yes, both parts. I realized that they read better and the epilogue flowed more easily when read one right after the other, rather than with a day in between. I'm hoping they won't be up too late, I'm just doing some final editing and putting some finishing touches on it. Be sure to keep an eye out for it! - J**


	17. Epilogue Part One A New Beginning

**A/N: And here we go, Part One of the epilogue. Hope you all enjoy! - J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the characters you don't recognize and the storyline. And the words. **

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><p><strong>Epilogue (Part One)- "A New Beginning"<strong>

Aria sat in her seat at the head table in one of the grand ballrooms of The Plaza Hotel in New York City, watching as Hanna and Caleb glided gracefully around the dance floor. They had just made their entrance into the reception for the first time as husband and wife fifteen minutes ago, and from the second Hanna stepped into the room, Aria could see that she had that newlywed glow to her that no makeup brand could ever hope to reproduce, while Caleb was watching her like she was the center of his universe. For the first time, Aria admitted that she was jealous.

It wasn't something she was proud of, but she had every right to be jealous of Hanna at that moment. Right now, she had everything Aria had ever hoped to have, a marriage to the man she was been in love with. Was it so wrong to want that?

Aria looked over to where Ezra was standing next to Byron and Mike, talking animatedly about something or another. As if he could feel her eyes on him, he glanced at her and shot her a glittering smile, one that still made her knees weak, even after an on and off relationship that basically spanned almost ten years. Aria turned her attention back to the couple in the center of the dance floor, watching as Caleb whispered something into Hanna's ear, and she threw her head back in laughter.

Caleb and Hanna were completely and utterly happy- and married. And yet here was Aria, together with Ezra almost two years, the longest relationship out of Aria's group of friends, he still had yet to pop the question to her. Sadly, all of her other friends were already happily married. As selfish as it was, she couldn't take seeing everyone else happy at this moment when it seemed like she would never be able to experience what apparently everyone else had experienced.

"I'm going to go outside and get some air really quick, okay?" Aria whispered to Spencer, grabbing her clutch.

"Okay, but don't be too long, I think dinner's being served soon, and Hanna's going to throw a fit if you're not here," Spencer whispered back.

"Don't worry, I won't be long," Aria said, standing up and pushing her chair back in. She rushed out the glass door in the back of the room that led to the garden outside, which was lit up, not even noticing Ezra calling out her name as she practically ran by him. Once she was out the doors, she settled down onto the closest bench and attempted to clear her head.

* * *

><p>"Will you excuse me a minute?" Ezra asked Byron and Mike as he watched Aria rush by in a hurry, looking upset.<p>

"Of course, go ahead," Byron said, clapping him on the back. Ezra nodded his thanks and hurried after Aria, hoping she wouldn't be too far away.

"Aria?" Ezra called, following the path he saw Aria take just seconds before. As he hoped, he didn't have to look far, he found her sitting on a bench just a few steps away from the door in the garden, shrouded by the dark sky. He sat down next to her on the bench, and it wasn't long before he noticed the tears falling down her cheeks. "Aria, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"Nothing, it's stupid," she said, attempting to cover her face while simultaneously trying furiously to wipe away the tears that were slowly streaming down her cheeks.

Ezra leaned forward and attempted to clear away her tears with the pads of his thumbs. "Aria, tell me what's wrong," he coaxed in a soft voice.

She lifted her head lightly and he watched her sweep her eyes around the twinkling garden before lifting her eyes up to the shining stars. "Have you ever wondered if this was supposed to be ours?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said, turning to face him, "have you ever thought that this extravagant wedding at The Plaza with the twenty-one piece orchestra, the five hundred guests watching me walking down the aisle in a white gown with a ten-foot lace train and veil to marry you, and the reception with the ridiculously large centerpieces and twelve tier cake and fireworks display at the end was supposed to be ours? That all this," she swept her arm out to emphasize her point, "was meant for us?"

Ezra raised an eyebrow, "You _want_ to walk into the reception hall and release ten doves, symbolizing one for each year that I've known you?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, okay, maybe not the doves."

He chuckled, "Good, because I was thinking that at our wedding, we should definitely leave that part out."

"See, that," Aria said. "We're not even engaged yet, and how many times have discussed our wedding? How many times have we mapped out our life plans and talked about where we wanted to live and how many kids we were going to have?"

"Aria, I'm just waiting for the right time. You know that."

"Yes, I know, 'the right time'," she said dismissively, "But how do you know when the right time is?" she insisted. "We've been together longer than Spencer and Toby, Emily and Samara, _and_ Hanna and Caleb have, and yet, _they're_ all the ones who have gotten married. Our lives are settled. I've been with _The New York Times_ since I moved back almost two years ago, my second novel went straight to number one on the _Best Seller_ list, and you're an English professor at NYU who's also had a book published within the last year- one which, if I may add, was my biggest competition. Our families are on great terms, constantly on the phone with each other, gossiping about us; our friends are incredibly supportive. We even live together! What more can we ask for?"

Ezra reached into the inside of his suit jacket, looking for the envelope he had been discreetly hiding the entire night. He pulled out the long, thin envelope and handed it to Aria wordlessly. "What's this?" she asked, feeling a wad of papers inside.

"Open it," he shrugged.

She flipped the envelope over and lifted up the flap, pulling out what looked to be two pieces of paper folded into a rectangular shape. She set aside the envelope and turned her attention to the papers, unfolding and scanning her eyes across the page. "Ezra," she gasped. "You didn't."

"I did," he confirmed. "Two tickets to Paris, leaving the day after tomorrow. I was planning on proposing to you there, in the Champ de Mars at sunset, with a picnic basket full of your favorite foods. I asked your parents for permission two months ago, and I've been scheming with the girls and Tristan, trying to figure out the perfect time and place to ask you. We were supposed to go last month, but I figured you wouldn't want anything deterring you from your Maid of Honor duties. I also thought that Hanna wouldn't, as much as she promised she would be okay with it, be too pleased if you stole her wedding spotlight with your engagement news."

"Ezra, I am so sorry I ruined your proposal!" Aria apologized, throwing her hand over her mouth. "I am so, so, so, so, _so _incredibly sorry."

"It's fine, I should have-"

"No, Ezra, this is all my fault," Aria cut off, "if I hadn't been so irrational and had thought things through and just waited-"

"Then you wouldn't be the woman I fell in love with," Ezra said with a laugh.

"Ever the charmer."

"I try," he laughed.

Aria scooted closer to him, the tears long forgotten, and laid her head on his shoulder. They sat there in the quiet for a few moments, watching the wedding reception unfolding through the glass doors in front of them. The strains of "Unchained Melody" played by the orchestra wafted through the air between them.

"Dance with me," Ezra said suddenly.

"I'm not ready to go inside yet, though," Aria complained. "It's nice outside. For once it peaceful and quiet, almost as if we're not in the center of New York City."

"I agree," Ezra said, "but I wasn't asking you to come inside with me."

"You want to dance out here? Now?"

Ezra didn't say a word, just stood up and bowed, holding his hand out for Aria to take. She shook her head and took his hand, laughing and squealing as Ezra spun her out, then pulled her back in, holding her tightly against him. She placed her hand on his shoulder, laying her head down on top and listening to him humming along to the music. They swayed, enjoying the peacefulness of the garden and the bright full moon above them.

"Let's get married," Ezra said suddenly. Aria stopped and lifted her head to study his face.

"Right now? You're kidding, right?" she asked, searching his face for any sign that he was joking.

"I'm serious," he replied. He pulled away and laced his fingers with hers, guiding her back to sit on their bench. "You said so yourself, we're in a stable relationship, we're settled in at our jobs, we live together, we're financially stable, we have everyone's approval- why not?"

She opened her mouth, ready to protest, but at the moment, she couldn't think of any reason why they shouldn't get married. "Let me get this straight, you want to get married. Tonight?"

"Tonight."

"I don't know if this is such a good idea," Aria admitted.

"Come on, Aria," he said, squeezing her hands, "Life's short. Let's take a chance, be spontaneous, live a little! We can drive down to Atlantic City tonight, it's only a two and a half hour drive, and then we can use the ruined proposal trip tickets to Paris for our honeymoon."

"But, you don't have a ring!" she exclaimed. To anyone listening to their exchange, it may have seemed like she was just trying to find convenient ways to get out of eloping, but in reality, she just wanted to make sure he was sure about his decision. She herself was ready to get married wherever, whenever, as long as he would be the one waiting at the end of the aisle.

Ezra reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a blue velvet box. "Actually, I do."

"Geez, Ezra, what else do you have hidden in your pockets?"

"Just those tickets, the ring, my cell phone and wallet, promise," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "I've been holding onto this ring ever since I bought it."

"When did you buy it?" she asked. From the looks of it, it seemed like he had been holding onto that ring for a while.

"A pretty long time ago."

"When?" she prompted.

"Do you remember that Christmas after we met here in New York, when you went back home to Rosewood and took Tristan with you, while I went to surprise you? Those disastrous two weeks?"

"Of course I do. How could I possibly forget? Those two weeks were horrible!" Aria exclaimed. Then she tilted her head, "Do you mean to tell me that you bought this ring almost two years ago, before you even knew whether or not we were going to get back together?"

"I bought it in the airport jewelry store before I boarded my flight."

Aria bit her lip. That meant that even back then, he knew, or at least hoped, that they would get back together eventually. "You're really sure about this, aren't you?"

"You're not?" he asked, slightly hurt.

"No, no!" Aria cried, "I'm sure. I just wanted to make sure this is what you wanted to do."

"I'm sure if you're sure."

Aria looked out at the concrete path that went from where they were sitting, past the wedding reception that was now in full swing, past The Plaza, and out to the main road where the valet were waiting with Ezra's car. She stood up and, very deliberately, dusted off her dress and picked up her clutch, holding out her free hand to Ezra. "Let's go."

"Let's go," he agreed, standing up and taking her hand. They clasped their hands together and took off running into the night.

* * *

><p>"They said they could squeeze us in in about two hours," Ezra said when he got back to the lobby of the Borgata after speaking to marriage officiant. "Apparently tonight is a busy night," he joked.<p>

Aria said nothing, just stared at the wall in front of where she was sitting. "Aria, are you okay? We don't have to do this if you don't want to," he asked nervously. The last thing he wanted to do was push her to do something she didn't feel right about.

She snapped out of her trance and shook her head fiercely, "No, it's not that, I want to get married tonight," she said. "But..."

"But what?" Ezra asked.

"It's stupid," Aria said for the second time that night.

"Aria, just say what it is you need to say. We can't get married if you're having second thoughts," he said.

"I'm not having second thoughts," she whispered. "It's just," she hesitated, "Do you think it's stupid that I don't want to get married tonight because it means that we'll have the same wedding anniversary as Hanna and Caleb?"

"That's what's wrong?" Ezra asked, not being able to keep the smile off of his face. After a quiet few seconds, he couldn't hold his laughter in any longer, and the entire lobby turned to look at him as he laughed hystericaly.

"Don't laugh at me!" Aria protested, hitting him as hard as she could while not quite being able to keep the laughter out of her own voice. "I know it's stupid. I warned you."

"Aria, look at your watch. What time is it?"

"12:15. Why?"

"Exactly, it's 12:15. Past midnight. We're not going to have the same wedding anniversary as Hanna and Caleb."

"We're not," she repeated carefully.

"Nope," he replied. "Why do you think I took my time and followed the speed limit on the highway, even though there weren't any other cars on the road?"

"Ezra Fitz, I knew there was a reason why I'm marrying you tonight," she said, standing up and wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him.

She only planned on giving him a quick kiss, but he pulled her back, crushing his lips against hers. "You know, we do have two hours to do absolutely nothing," he mumbled against her lips.

"I'm sure we can think of something to pass the time," she said, nipping on his bottom lip.

"I'm sure we can," he echoed. Reluctantly he pulled away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to check us in. You said so yourself, we have two hours, and I'm sure the honeymoon suite here is incredible," he said.

"I love your ideas," Aria said, kissing his cheek and unwrapping herself from him, allowing him to check them in.

* * *

><p>"So you're absolutely sure about this, right?" Ezra said.<p>

"Absolutely," Aria said, standing next to him in front of the mirror in their bathroom, wiping off her smudged lipstick and running her hands through her mused hair.

"Even if our family and friends aren't here?" he asked carefully, making it seem like he was rebuttoning the buttons on his dress shirt, rather than sneaking glances at her to make sure she was truly okay with this.

She shrugged, reapplying her lipgloss, "I mean, it'd be great if our friends could be here, even better if our families could, but there's kind of nothing we can do about it. You said so yourself, we need to live in the moment and do something spontaneous. Besides, they're all probably still at Hanna's reception."

Ezra heard a knock on the door. _Perfect timing_, he thought. "Why don't you go get the door?" he suggested innocently.

"Okay?" she said cautiously, drawing out the word. Taking one last look in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, she walked to their door and threw it open. Ezra was sure everyone in the entire casino could hear her squeal.

"What are you all doing here?" she screamed as Spencer, Toby, Emily, Samara, Hanna, Caleb, Tristan, Ella, Byron, Mike, Ezra's mother and father Vanessa and Andrew, Daniel, Jackie and Madeline marched into their suite.

"Ezra called us and told us you were getting married tonight," Hanna said, laying down a large garment bag onto the bed. "He's just lucky that I was able to swing by my apartment and grab this on the way here," she said, gesturing to the bag.

"I warned you that there was a possibility that we would be getting married spontaneously some day soon," he said with a shrug as he came out of the bathroom.

"That you did. But just be glad that we all happened to be in the same place, or we wouldn't have been able to make it down to Atlantic City together on such short notice," Ella chided.

"You planned this," Aria said accusingly, pointing a finger at him. The truth was slowly starting to dawn on her.

"More or less," he said. "The girls figured I would need a back-up plan, just in case our Paris trip fell through for some reason. This was Spencer's idea."

"Yeah, and I wouldn't have suggested it had I known you would've chosen the night of Hanna's wedding reception to follow through on it," she muttered, sinking into a chair.

Aria walked over to where Ezra was leaning against the wall, "You did all of this for me?"

"I did," he said.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, "Thank you. It means a lot that you got all of our friends and family here on such short notice."

"Short notice?" Vanessa interjected, "He's been planning the spontaneous wedding for months now. Don't let him make you think otherwise."

"I'm sorry to interrupt this, but I think we need to get Aria dressed. She is getting married in half an hour, after all," Hanna said, picking up the garment back and making her way to Aria, pulling her by the arm into the bathroom. "Spence, Em, will you grab that black bag?" she asked. Finally she pointed to everyone in the room, "Okay, everyone out except for Madeline, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, and Mike," she announced. "Go ahead and head down to the chapel, we'll be down in a few minutes."

Luckily, Hanna didn't need to use her powers of persuasion, because everyone left the room without the tiniest grumble of protest. "I'll see you in half and hour," Ezra said, kissing Aria on the cheek before leaving.

"Okay," Aria said, surrendering herself to the chaos. "What gorgeous dress do you have picked out for me to wear?"

Hanna unzipped the hanging garment bag, a collective gasp filling the large bathroom. "Hanna, it's beautiful," Aria breathed.

"Thank you, I designed it myself for you," Hanna said smugly, obviously pleaded with herself. And she had every right to be; she had basically designed Aria's dream dress. The bodice was strapless and had a sweetheart neckline, intricate beading weaved through the design of the delicate white lace that covered the entire dress, including small train that fanned out in the back. It was a simple dress, but exactly what Aria had envisioned herself getting married in.

"Can we get a move on? We only have twenty-five minutes left," Emily prodded.

"Right, twenty-five minutes," Hanna said, "Let's get to work."

* * *

><p>If Aria and Ezra were completely honest with themselves, the entire ceremony flew by in a blur. They didn't notice the color of the bridesmaids' dresses that Hanna had also brought along, or what the room looked like, or who was marrying them- the only thing they noticed was each other. If they were honest, the only thing they really remembered were the reciting of the vows.<p>

"Do you, Ezra Fitz, take Aria Montgomery to be your be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, all the days of your life?" the officiant asked Ezra.

"I do," he whispered, looking into Aria's eyes.

"And do you, Aria Montgomery, take Ezra Fitz to be your be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, all the days of your life?" the officiant turned, asking Aria.

"I do," she choked out, determined not to cry.

"Do you have the ring?" the officiant asked Ezra. Ezra nodded and pulled out the ring from his pocket, opening the box and lifting out the sapphire and diamond ring he had promised the salesman at the airport he would give to the woman he loved. He confidently slipped the ring onto Aria's ring finger, amazed at how beautiful it looked on her hand.

"By the power vested in me by the state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," he said, gesturing for Ezra to kiss Aria.

Ezra leaned in, then Aria stopped him momentarily, placing a hand on his chest, before turning to the officiant. "This _is_ legal, right?"

"I've been doing this for a long time, miss. From what I understand, yes, this is legal," he chuckled.

"Even if it's not, we can always do it again," Ezra suggested.

Aria grinned, "You know, you're definitely right."

And with that, Aria and Ezra kissed, amid all the clapping from their friends and family, for the first time as a married couple.


	18. Epilogue Part Two Life's an Hourglass

**A/N: I suggest either listening to the song used (Mindy Gledhill- 'Hourglass') either before you start reading or, if possible, listening to it while reading. It just makes the chapter that much better. :)  
><strong>

**A quick background behind this chapter: I actually wrote this, or started writing this, around the same time I wrote the third or fourth chapter of this story. Originally, I had intended for this to be a separate one-shot, but then I decided to hold off on posting it and use it as the last chapter/last part of the epilogue. **

**Enjoy! - J**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the storyline and the characters you don't recognize.**

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><p><strong>Epilogue (Part Two)- "Life's an Hourglass"<strong>

Ezra woke up from his dream with a grin on his face. He rolled over, meaning to enfold Aria into a warm hug, however, much to his surprise, he was greeted by nothing but cold sheets and a pillow.

"Aria?" he called out. Receiving no response, he opened his eyes to find himself facing the large bay window in their master bedroom. The sky outside was still a dark, twinkly night color, magically untouched by the hustle and bustle of New York City, which lay only twenty minutes away from their home. There was only one reason as to why the space beside him would be empty in the middle of the night. Groaning, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and quietly padded into the room next door.

Just as he expected, the soft light in the room was on and he could hear Aria's melodic lullaby weaving through the air, the rocking chair creaking in time to the slow rhythm. He leaned on the doorway and watched as Aria worked her magic, the fifty-seventh night in a row.

_Little boy, when you speak,  
><em>_I can't help but kiss your cheeks._

Aria was sitting in the rocking chair Ella and Byron had sent over as a baby shower gift, rocking the tiny baby swathed in a blue blanket in her arms. Nicholas Andrew Fitz, the adorable boy born to Aria and Ezra only three months before, had, once again, woken up crying in the middle of the night. But to Aria, having to come and rock Nick back to sleep in the middle of the night, every night, was a small price to pay for the rush of happiness she felt every time she saw his bright, electric blue eyes open and look at the world in wonder.

She softly kissed his cheek as he rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the new sights. Aria watched as his eyes roamed around the room, continuing to sing her lullaby.

_I love the way you grab my hands,  
><em>_And tell me all about your plans._

Aria lightly tapped Nick's nose with her pointer finger, laughing as he looked up at her face. He turned his tiny lips into something resembling a smile, before attempting to grab the finger she used. She watched in fascination as Nick wrapped his small hand as tightly as he could around her finger, pulling her hand towards his chest. She drew him closer to her heart, and he snuggled in contently.

The night he was born, Aria and Ezra began making plans for his future. He was going to have the absolute best life he could ever have. Nicholas Andrew Fitz was going to be a star football, soccer, tennis, lacrosse, track and field, basketball and swimming athlete. He was, according to Aria, set to inherit her musical skills, meaning he was obviously going to be an ace piano, guitar, drums, bass, flute and tambourine player, topped off with being a dazzling singer. He was going to excel in school, inheriting his father's, and mother's, as Aria had interjected, intellect.

Because of all of these talents, they decided that he was going to be accepted at Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Oxford, Cambridge, Brown, Columbia and Cornell on full scholarships. He was going to become a surgeon, a pediatric doctor, a world renowned recording artist, an aeronautical engineer, a sought after soccer star for the premiere teams in Europe, a professor, and a published _New York Times Best Selling Author. _Long story short, Nick was going to have the entire world at his feet. Absolutely anything he wanted to pursue, wherever he wanted to go, whatever he wanted to become, he would have his parents behind him, encouraging him all the way with all their hearts.

This little boy was going to be spoiled, not only by material things, as Hanna had menacingly warned, but he was going to be spoiled by love. He didn't just have the love of his parents, his grandparents and his uncle Mike, he was going to be loved by his entire extended family. His three aunts Emily, Spencer and Hanna, including his Aunt Samara and Uncles Toby and Caleb, were going to shower this boy with more love than he could handle. And this wasn't even including his godfather/uncle Tristan.

_Rocket high, comets fly,  
><em>_You and I could hitch a ride,  
><em>_And fly away to Neverland,  
><em>_And give our best to Peter Pan._

Aria stood up, bringing Nick over to his crib where the mobile his Aunt Spencer and Uncle Toby had generously gifted to him the day after he was born was hanging from the ceiling. Nick's stared wide-eyed at the glittery stars and bright rockets moving gently, gingerly reaching his free hand up to the moving objects. Aria, unwilling to risk the possibility that Nick could grab one of them and pull, causing the mobile to drop, stretched her neck upwards and blew on one of the rods that held the dangling stars and rockets, causing them to move more quickly. Nick's eyes grew wider, if that was even possible, enthralled with the movement.

Ezra took this opportunity to push himself off of the doorframe and make his way over to Aria and Nick. "Wouldn't fall asleep again, huh?"

"Nope. I've been rocking him for the last thirty minutes, but he doesn't seem like he wants to go back to sleep," Aria murmured, "I knew it was a bad idea letting him nap for that long earlier this afternoon."

"Why don't I give it a try? You look exhausted; have you even slept yet?" Ezra asked, reaching his arms out in a cradle-like shape. Aria lightly passed Nick to him, and watched as he automatically fluttered his eyes and placed his thumb in his mouth, as he always did when sleep slowly starting to overcome him.

"I guess he wanted you tonight," Aria whispered, brushing Nick's hair to the side, out of his face.

"It was about time, I was beginning to worry that I was doing something wrong. He's never fallen asleep in my arms before." Ezra shot Aria a pointed look, "But quit dodging the question: have you made it to bed?"

Aria collapsed into the rocking chair, curling her feet under her. "No, I haven't. I was working on an article for the Times, and I had just finished it up and emailed it to my editor. I was on my way to bed when Nick started crying."

Nick's eyes finally shut, thumb securely in his mouth. "You know you could've come and woken me up. You've been lacking on sleep lately, I don't mind trying my luck at getting him to sleep. It seemed to work tonight, didn't it?" Ezra replied, lowering Nick into his crib, tucking the Peter Pan blanket his mother had sent as a late congratulations present last week around him.

Ezra turned to look at Aria in the rocking chair, surprised by the silence he received as a response. A small smile played at his lips as he saw her curled up on the chair, snoring quietly. "Come on, Nick's already asleep, it's time we get you to bed, too," he whispered more to himself, easily lifting her from the chair and carrying her to their room. He carefully placed her on her side of the bed, tucking the comforter around her, much like he had done to Nick a few moments before. Kissing the top of her head softly, he slowly made his way back to their son's nursery.

"Hey there, little guy," Ezra whispered, hovering over Nick's crib, watching the rise and fall of his chest. "I hope it's okay, but I'm going to be the one putting you to sleep a couple times from now on. Your mommy needs some rest, too. Now, I know I may not sing as well as your mom does, or tell stories in voices that uncannily fit each character well, but I'm going to try everything I can. Okay?" He leaned down ran his hand over the baby's head full of black hair.

"Your mom and I love you more than anything in the world. Always remember that," he whispered, kissing his forehead lightly. He walked to the door and smiled, turning off the light and closing the door before making his way back to Aria.

_When you reach for the stars,  
><em>_Don't forget who you are,  
><em>_And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast._

"Mommy, what if I don't like it there?" Nick asked, a worried expression painted across his face.

Aria gave him a sad smile and closed his door before making her way to the other side, opening up the car door and sliding into the seat next to him. "Nick, what makes you think that?" she asked him, closing the door to give them a little privacy. Ezra was still loading the rest of the boxes containing their New York life into the trunk, and Aria knew that this would be the only time Nick showed just how nervous he was about their move. He always put on a brave face for Ezra, wanting to appear as strong and confident as his father was, but in the confidence of his mother, he showed his true colors.

"I don't know," he mumbled, looking down and fidgeting with the car seat buckles.

"Nick, look at me," Aria coaxed. He looked over at her with sad eyes, and she took the opportunity to lean over and stroke his hair, "You'll be fine. We're just moving to Rosewood. You remember Rosewood, don't you? The place where Mommy used to live with Aunt Spencer, Uncle Toby, Aunt Hanna, Uncle Caleb, Aunt Emily and Aunt Samara? Where Grandma and Grandpa live? You love it there! You were so happy when you found out that we would be moving closer to them, what changed?"

Nick averted his gaze back down to play with the safety buckles, "I don't know," he repeated.

"Nicky, what is it?" she look at him with a discerning look, "Because I need to know if you're not comfortable with moving. If you don't want to, we don't have to move, we can stay in New York," she asked, concerned.

"No, it's not that. I want to move."

"Then what's wrong?" Aria asked him one more time. She listened to the sound of the running engine and watched as Nick contemplated telling her the truth or not. Then he mumbled something incoherently.

"What's that?" she asked.

"I'm scared that if we move, you'll be spending more time with Aunt Spencer, Uncle Toby, Aunt Hanna, Uncle Caleb, Aunt Emily, Aunt Samara, Grandma and Grandpa, and Daddy and my new sister, and you won't have time for me anymore," he released in one breath.

Aria relaxed and let out a chuckle, "Come here," she said, reaching out for him. He carefully pushed himself out of his car seat and crawled onto the seat and into his mother's lap. "Now, you listen to me. No matter what, I will always have time for you. Even though we're moving back to where all of our family and friends are, that doesn't mean that I, or Daddy for that matter, will be spending less time with you. We promise, even when your little sister comes, we'll always have time for you."

She pulled him into a tight hug, "Even if it seems like we're busy, you can always come to us. Just tell us you want to spend time with us, and we'll drop whatever we're doing and come hang out with you, okay?"

"Promise?" he asked, lifting his head from her shoulder and peeking out from under his dark eyelashes.

"Promise," she vowed. He nodded and laid his head on her shoulder once more, tightening his grip on her.

She sighed, knowing that eventually the day would come where he refused to be hugged by her in public, or be seen spending time with her, or even wouldn't be caught dead telling her anything about his life or his feelings. So, for now, she was going to cherish moments like these; the moments where he told her everything, and then would hug her and never want to let her go.

Ezra knocked on the rear window and Aria turned her head to see that he was finished loading the trunk. _"Can I come in yet?"_ he mouthed. She held up one finger and reluctantly let go of her son.

"Your dad's getting a little antsy standing outside and waiting for us to finish talking. How about I buckle you in and we head over to see our new house and we can talk again tonight?" she suggested.

"Okay," Nick said in a small voice, crawling back into his car seat and allowing Aria to fasten all of the buckles. Once she finished, she gave him a small kiss on the head and exited the car.

_See the sand in my grasp,  
><em>_From the first to the last.  
><em>_Every grain becomes a memory of the past,  
><em>_Oh, life's an hourglass.  
><em>_Life's an hourglass._

Aria walked around the car and up to the steps in front of the house where they now _used to _live, where Ezra was sitting, patiently waiting for Aria and Nick to finish their conversation. He knew that Nick often put up a brave face whenever he was around, but once it was just him and his mother, he broke down and told her the truth. It was a talent she had, always having the ability to get people to speak the truth.

"Are you sure he's okay with this?" he asked as she sat down next to him.

Aria nodded, "I think he will be."

"Good," Ezra replied, standing up. He held his hands out to Aria to take, helping her get up. "Because I think it's time to get going."

"Let's go, then," Aria said with a smile. Ezra wrapped his arm around her waist and carefully guided her to the car. Opening Aria's door, he helped her settle in before he finally slipped into the driver's seat and buckled his seatbelt.

"Ready to go, buddy?" Ezra asked, turning around to face his son.

"Ready!" Nick confirmed, all traces of hesitation gone. Ezra laughed and turned to Aria, placing one hand on her rounded belly.

"How about our girl? Is she ready?" he cooed. He felt the unborn baby kick strongly under his hand. He laughed, "I guess I'll take that as a yes."

Ezra shifted the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway, then shifted into drive and eased his way onto the road. Aria watched as the life she had become accustomed to for the last few years, the place she had called home, now dissolved away. This chapter of their lives was over, and now it was time to start the next chapter of their lives. Away from New York and back in Rosewood.

_Story's read, prayer is said,  
><em>_Close your eyes sleepyhead.  
><em>_While angels linger in your dreams,  
><em>_And hold you in their feathered wings._

"Did you have fun today?" Aria asked, tucking Nick into his new bed, in his new room, in their new house in Rosewood. Since they had arrived earlier that day, they had spent the day greeting old friends, allowing Nick to play with other children his age from around the neighborhood, while they tried to get settled in. Although they hadn't really managed to get anything unpacked, they made it a point to unpack and assemble Nick's bed. They figured that, though the stress of moving, Nick would want something stable and familiar in his room.

"I did, thank you for letting me play with the other kids today, I made a lot of new friends," he said.

"Well I'm glad you had fun," she said, "And you're very welcome." She sat down on the floor next to his bed and pulled the box of books, thank God Nick had inherited their love of books, from behind her, trying not to strain herself. "So, what book will it be for tonight?"

She was greeted by the soft snoring sound coming from Nick. She laughed softly, "Good night, sleepyhead." Leaning over, Aria placed a light kiss on his head and pushed herself up, and making her way towards the door. Taking one last glance at Nick's peaceful, sleeping face, she plugged in his nightlight and turned out the lights his room, shutting the door behind her.

_Just like you, I was small.  
><em>_Not that long ago at all._

"He must've been really tired, he knocked out pretty quickly," Aria announced when she reentered the living room. She smiled at the sight of her childhood friends and their significant others, gathered around the couch and love seat.

"I really am glad you guys moved back to Rosewood," Spencer commented, taking a sip of her water and placing it back onto the table in front of her.

"We are, too. But, it was a long time coming. This place will always be home to us," Aria replied, sitting down next to Ezra and leaning into him. He immediately responded by pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her comfortably.

Emily looked around Aria and Ezra's new house, only a few pieces of furniture were scattered around and an endless number of boxes were stacked in various rooms of the house. "It's kind of surreal, isn't it? Moving back to our hometown, living in our own houses, with our own families, just like our parents did?"

"It is," Aria agreed. "I mean, I remember meeting you when we were still toddlers, crawling around the floor of Spencer's house while our parents sat around, just like we're doing right now, talking about us."

"It's times like this that I miss Ali," Hanna murmured. "Even though she seemed like a horrible person to everyone else, I'm sure that she would have loved to be sitting around here with us, married and happy with her own family, bragging about her kids. I always feel depressed knowing that she died so young, that she'll never get the chance to do exactly what we're doing right now."

"It's hard to believe that it's approaching fifteen years since Ali was murdered," Spencer said.

"It seems like it was just yesterday."

_I wish you all the happiness  
><em>_That God gives freely if you ask._

"Are you happy?" Ezra asked out of the blue, once everyone had left. They were snuggled on the couch, cups of hot chocolate on the table in front of them.

"Without a doubt," Aria answered, not missing a beat. She turned to Ezra, "How could I not be? I'm married to my best friend, I have an adorable, intelligent four-year-old son asleep in his room upstairs, I have a beautiful baby girl arriving in a few months, and I'm living in my hometown, surrounded by my friends and family. What is there that could possibly make me unhappy?"

"So you don't miss your job at the Times? You don't regret leaving The San Francisco Chronicle? You don't resent the fact that you fell in love with your English teacher, who lied to you and abandoned you for years?"

"Ezra, I don't regret a single thing. Every decision I've made in my life, even the bad decisions, brought me to this day. Kicking you out of my room that day when I found out you lied to me allowed for us to, excuse my bluntness, break up and helped us to grow and mature without each other holding the other back. Leaving the Chronicle was worth it, if it meant that I was able to start a relationship with you again, leading to our marriage and beautiful family.

"And I don't miss my job at the Times. Leaving the Times means that we get to move back to Rosewood, and we get to be at the hospital when Spencer and Toby's whatever gender baby they're having is born. We get to watch Hanna and Caleb's son Gregory grow up. We get to see Emily and Samara's faces when their son Markus arrives with the adoption agency next week from South Africa. Best of all, we get to watch our children live and experience the same things we did when we were growing up- all in a small town setting, surrounded by their friends and family. Why wouldn't I be happy with all of that?"

Ezra laughed and kissed her nose, "Good answer."

"Why, are you not happy?" she asked, craning her neck to look up at him.

"I have absolutely no reason to be unhappy. You're sitting with me here on this couch, carrying our daughter, while our son is asleep upstairs. We're semi-settled into our new house, you're able to keep writing as a freelance journalist, I'm starting my job as a professor at Hollis in a few months- I am ecstatic," he said, face breaking into a grin.

"Good answer," she echoed, planting a soft kiss on his lips before snuggling closer to Ezra. There was absolutely no reason to be unhappy.

_When you reach for the stars,  
><em>_Don't forget who you are,  
><em>_And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast._

"I have the pleasure of personally introducing our next speaker," the Dean of Undergraduates announced into the microphone once the applause had begun to die down. "I remember, it was sometime in Winter 2037, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions had called me in, telling me that they had just sifted through the first batch of applications and had considerably narrowed down the number they believed to be 'Yale material'. I always loved going in and reading the profiles of the first accepted students for the new class, so I quickly had them send over the files.

"This next young man, his profile was the first of his year that I read. There was something about him that drew me in; he was more than just perfect grades and test scores, although he did get a 2360 on his SATs, 4s and 5s on all fourteen AP tests he took, and he did finish with a 4.7 GPA and was first in his graduating high school class, but I could sense that he also had a story to tell.

"I think what I remembered most clearly about this boy from a small town in Pennsylvania was his charisma, his charm, his passion for learning and determination to make a difference in the world. From his personal statement, I could see a spark in him that I immediately knew would be an asset to Yale.

"And as I stand here today, ready to introduce him as Valedictorian for Yale University's Class of 2042, I know I was correct when I placed his application in the 'Student to Watch' pile that day in my office. Today, he graduates Yale _summa cum laude _with degrees in both Biology and Psychology, a minor in English composition and an acceptance to the top medical school at Harvard University. I know that we will definitely be seeing great things from this man in the future. Please welcome to the stage, Mr. Nicholas Andrew Fitz."

Nick stood up from his seat on stage and gave the Dean a tight hug, a smile playing on his lips. Pulling away, he walked up to the podium and adjusted the notecards containing his speech. Not that he would need it, he had had it memorized for weeks. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly into the microphone, "Dean Weller, faculty and staff of Yale University, family, friends and fellow graduates of the Class of 2042- good morning," he greeted, before beginning his speech.

"I can guarantee you that when we were all tiny, squirming babies, our parents had a lullaby they would often sing to us, the only one that would put us to sleep every night. I don't know about all of you, but I can speak for myself when I say that, to this day, I remember exactly how my lullaby went. Now I'm not going to sing the whole song, I, much to my mother's chagrin, didn't exactly inherit her musical talents like she'd hoped, but I am going to share with all of you a verse from it.

"'When you reach for the stars, don't forget who you are, and please don't turn around and grow up way too fast. See the sand in my grasp, from the first to the last, every grain becomes a memory of the past. Life's an hourglass.'

"My fellow classmates, we are here today, minutes away from closing another chapter of our lives. We're minutes away from graduating from college, minutes away from being released into the unknown. For years, we've lived under the structure of spending our days going to school and classes and learning, and spending our evenings putting what we've learned that day to good use- through homework. But after today, the structure we've become so accustomed to for the last sixteen or so years falls away, leaving us to plan out our own paths.

"Some of us may go straight to working, others of us may spend some time traveling the world, while still others, such as in my case, are going to go back to school to learn more about the topics we still haven't covered. The lives we've lived these last few years are grains of sand, memories of our past.

"You see, when I found out a few months ago that I would be in the running to give this speech, I automatically started looking through quotes that I could use to open with. I thumbed, or more precisely, _scrolled_, through pages and pages of quotes from famous people such as Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Barack Obama and even Miley Cyrus, but there wasn't a single quote that stood out to me.

"It wasn't until I had finished writing this speech that I found the perfect quote I was looking for. And the place I found it on? Facebook. I saw on my news feed that one of my friends had just updated her quotations section of her profile, and I clicked onto it, thinking that it would just be another hilarious saying that came out of a mutual friend's mouth. Instead, I found this:

'As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. You just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.'

"Now, I know it sounds like a typical quote from the horrendous Myspace days our parents used to tell us about, but if you think about it, it's true. Every day of our lives, nothing is guaranteed. We can't exactly control each and every thing that happens, but we can live and learn from each experience. Each day that passes is another day that we'll never get back; it's not as if we can stockpile the days that pass by in which we do nothing, then redeem them towards the end of our lives to add an extra few days on before we pass.

"We need to remember that each day is a gift, as cheesy as that sounds, and that we need to take each day and seize it. Take chances, live spontaneously, document each moment and just _live_. We shouldn't live with 'What If's', we shouldn't spend our lives regretting decisions we did or didn't make, we need to accept it. Learn from it. Because we never get a second chance at life.

"So, Class of 2042, I challenge you to live life to the fullest. To do absolutely every thing you've ever thought about doing. Go bungee jumping off a cliff, go backpacking around Europe, get drunk in Las Vegas, go skydiving, get your pilot's license, write and publish a book, get married and start a family- whatever your heart desires. Life passes by quickly, and before we know it, it'll be over. So make the most of every day. Live each day as if it were your last. And when it comes time for our twenty-five year reunion, I hope to see pictures and hear stories about all of your crazy adventures. Because I know for sure, I'll definitely have some stories of my own to tell. Thank you."

Nick gathered his notecards and made his way back to his seat, while the crowd rose to give him a standing ovation. He couldn't help but laugh and be pleased at the response he garnered from the crowd. Now was the moment they had all been waiting for. The Dean slowly stood up and made his way to the podium.

"Congratulations to Yale University's Class of 2042!" the Dean exclaimed into the microphone. Everyone in the audience stood up and clapped as the newly graduated students rose out of their seats and threw their 'Yale Blue' caps into the air, squealing and they fell back down as quickly as they had gone up, everyone trying to dodge the falling tassels and pointed corners of the caps. And just like that, he was released into the wild unknown.

"Congratulations! We are so proud of you, Nick!" Aria said as her eldest son finally made his way out of the sea of people. She pulled him in as soon as he came within arms reach, crushing him in a tight hug.

"Thanks Mom," he mumbled, chin bouncing on the top of her head as he spoke. After they had their moment, Aria pulled away to look at him. At twenty-two and just barely grazing the six foot mark, he was the spitting image of Ezra when he was that age. He had the same head of dark black curls, same electric blue eyes, same boyish grin, same build- the similarities between them were uncanny.

"Aria, you're hogging Nick. Let me have a chance to congratulate him, too," Ezra said with a laugh.

"Right, right, sorry," she said, letting him go and moving to the side to let Ezra move in.

"Congratulations, son. I'm so proud of you," Ezra said as he hugged his son tightly. In this moment, he was absolutely positive there were no two parents who were more proud of their child than they were.

"Thanks Dad," Nick said, squeezing his father just as tightly. "And thanks for taking Mom away, she was starting to scare me, the way she was staring at me like that."

Ezra laughed, "Don't think too much about it, she's just amazed that you look so much like I did when I was your age. She was probably praying that you don't turn out the way I did."

"Not true," Aria butted in, "I was hoping that he's going to turn out to be just as wonderful as you did," she said, kissing Ezra's cheek.

"Ew, Mom! Can you _please_ spare me?" Aria and Ezra's daughter Elizabeth teased with a fake gag. "You already did this last week at _my_ graduation, do you have to do it at Nick's, too?"

"Shush, you," Aria said, slinging her arm around Elizabeth and squeezing her tightly before turning back to their son. "So, Nick, what are your plans for today? Don't forget that the joint graduation party for you, Elizabeth and Alison starts at 5 tonight. Gregory and Mark flew out as soon as their last final was over so that they could make it. I think that leaves you with a few hours to go out for lunch with your friends."

"Actually, if it's okay with you guys, I was hoping that I could steal Elizabeth away for a little brother-sister bonding time. I haven't been able to spend much time with her lately, and I figured that now that we've both graduated, we can hang out," Nick said.

"Of course that's fine, just make sure to stay out of trouble and be in Rosewood by 5," Ezra said sternly, but Aria noticed the twinkle in his eye. They both knew that they had raised two wonderful children that wouldn't get into trouble- well, at least that's what Ezra thought. Aria knew quite a few of their secrets, but she wasn't about to let any of them slip.

Aria and Ezra gave their children one last hug before making their way to their car, ready to begin the long drive back to Rosewood.

_See the sand in my grasp,  
><em>_From the first to the last,  
><em>_Every grain becomes a memory of the past.  
><em>_Oh, life's an hourglass._

"It's hard to believe that time has passed by so quickly," Aria said. "Now Nick's on his way to medical school at Harvard, Elizabeth's heading out to Stanford, Alison is will be starting at NYU in the fall, Gregory is in his first year at Hollis and Mark is at Penn State. They're all so grown up."

"And we're all getting so old!" Ezra announced with a chuckle.

"Speak for yourself, Mister. You're seven years older than all of us!"

"Ouch, I have to say, that hurts," Ezra said, dramatically clutching his heart.

"Shut up," Aria said, laughing. Ezra brought his hand back down and grabbed Aria's, giving it a squeeze. Suddenly the strains of a familiar song began to pour out of the speakers. "Oh!" Aria exclaimed, turning up the volume, "I haven't heard this song in years! I used to love it!"

"'Love's to Blame' was a great-" Ezra paused mid-thought. "Wait. That was you that night, wasn't it?"

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked, more than slightly confused.

"Do you happen to remember that night: we were living in New York, you accepted my request on Facebook and we started messaging? I heard someone on the floor below me playing this song, and I knew that the people who lived in the apartment below mine were all girls, so that night I vowed I would go and meet them one day. Hopefully find the girl who was playing my favorite song. That was you, wasn't it?"

Aria thought back to that day and laughed. That was the night she had been trying to work on her chapter for her second novel and decided to take a break, turning on the music and going on Facebook, only to be met with a friend request from Ezra. That was the night it had all began. "Yeah, I guess that was me."

"Well, that's kind of ironic, because the only thing that kept me from going to meet those girls the next morning was knowing that if I didn't drop off those papers at school first thing in the morning, I wouldn't have been able to make that coffee date we set up."

"I guess love's to blame, then," Aria said with a smile. She turned her hand over in Ezra's and intertwined their fingers, looking out at the wide open road. Even though they were getting older, the possibilities and opportunities that lay before them were still endless. And they were going to chase those dreams. Together.

_Life's an hourglass.  
><em>_Life's an hourglass._

**FIN.**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And that's it, the end of Love's To Blame. **

**I guess there's nothing really left for me to say except for thank you. Thank you for all the reviews, the story alerts, the author alerts and favorites, it truly means a lot to me. I wish I could go through and copy and paste the names of every single person who reviewed, or had an alert out, or favorited this story, but I'm sure that no one would enjoy reading that, so I'll spare you all.**

**Anyway, thank you for the outpouring of support for my first PLL fanfic. I never for one minute thought that my little one-shot would grow to something this big. I only have all of you to thank for all of this, because without you guys, I wouldn't have continued this. I would've left it as a one-shot and never developed any of these storylines. I wouldn't have been able to explore the world of Aria and Ezra that I created in this story. Thank you, again, thank you.  
><strong>

**As for what's next, I have absolutely no idea. I may post a few more Ezria one-shots, I may keep going on All About Your Heart, I may start a new multi-chapter story, I may write about a new couple, I may start a Gilmore Girls one, I honestly have no idea what the future holds for me when it comes to writing. But I do know that I hope all of you continue to keep reading my stuff if, or when, I do post something new.**

**Well, that's basically it. Thank you for taking time out to read my story, you will never know how grateful I really am. **

**For the last time, here is the end of one of my ridiculously long Author's Notes. And, for the last time, please review! :)**

**- J**


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